


Earth and Space, Steven's Universe

by VentriloquistRose



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 61,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26616895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VentriloquistRose/pseuds/VentriloquistRose
Summary: A series remake made by me. When his human side seems to back-stab him and hands him an unwanted piece of paper, but his gem side wants to literally stab him in the back, Steven is put into an unwanted situation that will change his life forever.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

"GUYS!" Steven shouted as he burst through the door. "Huh?!"

His whole house was invaded by small centipeedle-looking creatures, chewing on everything. The couch, the stairs, the microwave. Everything.

A purple whip wrapped itself around a centileedle.

The owner of the whip was a purple gem with long white-purple hair, about the size of himself.

"Yo, Steven!" She made a peace-sign with her fingers and then pulled the monster into poofing with her whip.

"Whoa! What's going on?!" Steven asked, excitedly.

"These... hngh! Centipeetles were all over the house when we got home." Pearl answered his question. "But don't worry, Steven. We'll make sure to remove them from your room." She then broke it's neck with her hands and it poofed.

Garnet crushed a centipeedle against the floor with her gauntlet.

Pearl spun around gracefully and poofed at least five with her spear.

And soon, there were no more left.

"Well, that was a-lot easier than I thought." Pearl sang proudly as her spear disappeared. She looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh no, we're out of scethual. Better prepare dinner." She walked over to the fridge and opened the door.

But to her surprise, a centipeedle was inside and chewed on the food inside.

"Gaah!" Pearl gasped, summoned her spear and poofed it.

"Aww man! It ate all the food!" Steven whined as he looked inside the fridge. Meanwhile, Pearl bubbled the gem and send it away.

"I guess we'll have to ask Greg." Pearl sighed. "Maybe has has something and we can eat together."

Steven immediately gasped. "Do you know what that means?!" He asked excitedly.

"Uh..." The gems looked at each-other.

"It's time for... together breakfast!"  
\-------------

"Together breakfast!" Steven shouted. "Now called, together dinner."

It was night-time. The sun had started falling down the horizon of the beach.

The grill was hot-on, Greg being the master of the hot-dogs.

The rest sat on either blankets or sun-chairs.

Steven held a weird-looking cake in his hands. It looked to be made out of waffles, chocolate-sauce, popcorn and strawberries.

Yum.

"Steven, don't you think that dish is more for dessert?" Pearl asked as she poured soda into some mugs on the sand.

"It is for dessert!" Steven grinned and carefully put it down on a blanket.

"Don't let that out of sight, Steven. Or else it'll be get eaten by-."

"ME!" From out of nowhere, the blanket beneath the cake turned out to be Amethyst, shape-shifted.

She grinned from ear to ear as she shape-shifted back to normal, now holding the cake. "I'm HUNGRY!" She laughed.

"Nooooo!" Steven gasped and quickly took the cake back, keeping it away from Amethyst. "Amethyst! This is not for now!"

"Aww, come on man!" Amethyst pouted, crossing her arms.

"No!" Steven sternly demanded.

Later that night, Steven and Amethyst had fallen asleep on a blanket.

Garnet sat beside them, Greg sat on a chair and Pearl sat on her knees on a blanket.

The grill long ago burned out and it was dark outside. Everything was at peace.

When suddenly, there was a sound.

Pearl turned her head around.

A song. It sounded much like a whale's song, but lower and more... with a melody.

"Did you hear something?" Pearl asked as she looked back at the others.

"Hear what?" Amethyst asked nonchalantly as she loudly awoke.

"A song." Pearl answered, looking back towards the ocean. She then sighed. "I guess it was just my imagination."

"It's starting to get late." Garnet spoke as she looked back at them. "Let's get Steven to bed." She rest a gentle hand on the sleeping boy beside her.

"Yeah, I better head back to the van. See ya'll tomorrow." Greg stood up and waved them goodbye as he started walking to his van.

"Goodnight, Mr. Universe." Garnet said before she picked Steven up and carried him back to the house.

"Ugh... Pearl..." Amethyst whined from the ground. "Carry me..." She lifted her arms like a baby wanting to get picked up.

"Oh honestly..." Pearl sighed.

But she picked Amethyst up and threw her over her shoulder and started walking back to the house.

She opened the door but immediately stopped.

There it was again. That sound.

She turned her head.

But nothing was there.

She hummed in thought and walked inside the house, shutting the door behind her, leaving the waves of the ocean to rise and fall alone.  
\---------------  
The next day.

"PEARL! PEAAAARL!" Steven shouted.

He looked in the bathroom, he looked in the kitchen.

"Peearl!" He shouted as he had returned to the kitchen-area.

The temple-door opened and Amethyst stepped inside the room. "Yo, Steven. What's that yelling about?" She asked.

"I can't find Pearl anywhere." Steven whined as he looked beneath the couch and sat up on his knees. "I thought I'd show her this cool thing I found."

"Just enjoy it why it lasts." Amethyst shrugged, munching on a bag of chips. "Hey, man. It's cool. She probably just left off for some weird... sword convention or something." She shrugged.

"No, Pearl's really good at telling about something like that. And bragging." Steven shrugged as he went to look in one of the cabinets. "Hmm. Nope, no Pearl."

Amethyst watched him and frowned. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's not in the cabinets. Have you asked G?" Amethyst asked, throwing a hand-full of chips into her mouth.

"No. I haven't seen her today either." Steven said, looking thoughtful of the revelation. "Could they be on a mission?"

Amethyst just shrugged. She suddenly perked up, eyes light up.

"Hey, isn't that Gregory?" She asked.

What she was referring to was the man standing near the shore, visible through the window.

"Huh?"

They both walked out of the house and rushed over to the man standing by the shore.

"Dad!" Steven shouted and stopped beside him.

"Oh, hi Stu-Ball." Greg greeted him before looking skeptical towards the ground.

"What are you doing?" Steven asked.

Greg pointed towards the ground. Steven looked down.

"Foot prints?" He hummed.

He stepped closer and crouched down near them.

They were indeed footprints. Footprints from shoes, thin and long.

"Yeah, I saw them earlier when I was trying to get ideas for a song." Greg explained, refering to the guitar hanging on his back. "I figured it was best to go check so it wasn't a kid or something playing 'cool' near the water."

"These looks like Pearl's." Steven hummed and followed the direction of the footprints. Most of them were quite washed out by the waves, and they were headed into the-

"Could she just have walked into the ocean?" Steven asked, eyebrow raised. He turned towards Amethyst.

Amethyst just shrugged, but she looked as thoughtful as he did. "Not the first time it happens." She added.

"Huh?" Greg hummed in confusion.

When suddenly, there was a sound. A song.

With a soft gasp, they looked towards the ocean.

But it was nothing there.

"Dude! What the heck was that?!" Amethyst shrieked, gritting her teeth.

"That wasn't a whale's song." Steven thought loud and looked at the purple gem over his shoulder.

"Didn't Pearl say something about a song yesterday?" Amethyst asked. "I thought she was bragging of her humming." She shrugged.

"Hey, guys. What's going on here?" Greg asked worriedly.

"We can't find Pearl." Steven explained. "We think she has walked into the ocean. And we think she's looking for whatever made that sound."

"Or was taken by it." Amethyst teased in a spooky voice.

"Guys, I just came up with a song." Greg said from out of nowhere.

"Yeah, I don't know about you guys, but we gotta go down there." Amethyst said determined and started stepping into the water.

"Shouldn't we wait for Garnet?" Steven asked skeptically.

"Dude, when Garnet comes back, P could already be eaten by something!" Amethyst shouted.

Steven looked skeptical at first but soon found courage. He nodded. He turned towards his father. "You okay here alone, dad?" He asked.

"Sure thing!" Greg cheered, already sitting on the sand with a piece of paper and a pen in hand and his guitar in his lap. "I gotta write this down!" He started typing something down.

Steven smiled and Amethyst rolled her eyes.  
\---------------  
Some time later...

At the bottom of the ocean.

Steven walked inside his bubble, completely water-proof and walking functional.

"Pearl! Peaaarl!" He shouted.

Amethyst walked not far away, looking around. "Peeaaarl!" She shouted, bubbles pouring out of her mouth.

"It's really very beautiful down here." Steven said as he looked around. There was a tree in his path, and he walked around it. "I get why Pearl came down here."

Amethyst just shrugged.

They walked for a few moments

When suddenly they saw two familiar figures further ahead.

Steven squinted with his eyes. "Pearl!" He shouted.

Pearl almost jumped and turned around in surprise. "Steven!" She gasped. Well, tried to because all that escaped her mouth were bubbles.

Steven widened his arms and clapped his hands. His bubble stretched out and covered the duo and Amethyst, pulling them into his bubble.

"Amethyst! What is Steven doing here?!" Pearl blurted angrily.

"Good question. Why don't you ask yourself that?!" Amethyst shouted.

Pearl looked confused. "You want 'me' to ask 'me' what Steven's doing here? Why should I ask something to myself when that question was meant for someone else because I didn't know the answer in the first place?"

Amethyst was annoyed by the comment and was about to burst out yelling, when Garnet put a hand over her mouth, hushing her.

She put a finger on her lips and hushed them, and then waved them to come along.

Steven and Amethyst shared a glance, but they started walking.

They walked for at least five minutes, before they had come to an edge to their road.

Amethyst crossed her arms. "So... what are we supposed to see?" She asked bored.

Garnet hushed her again and suddenly tensed and looked up.

Something swam above them. Something big.

Everyone ducked by reflex, watching the creature swim above them.

It soon had passed them and they relaxed.

And as the creature swam out more to the open, they could see it more clearly.

It was almost as big as a whale. Her upper body had a regular gem's shape, but her head had a predator's face with a big jaw and big teeth. Her color was close to purple and she had long, green hair. She had four arms and a thick tail behind her which was a deep green.

"P, what the heck is that?" Amethyst whispered, taking a hold of Pearl's leg.

"We don't know." Pearl whispered. "I heard it yesterday and has been looking for it since this morning. Garnet soon predicted I'd be here and came to help me."

"We don't know what it wants." Garnet spoke in a hushed tone. "But what we do know is that we can't let a creature of that size be so near humans." She added. She slammed her fist into her palm. "We need to poof it and send it to the temple."

Steven could only watch in awe as the creature swam around. "I think it's really pretty." He said.

"Yeah, pretty freakin' dangerous." Amethyst said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, here's the plan." Garnet began, adjusting her visor. "We need to get it's attention. A creature of that size is too big for us to poof. We'll have to trick it to the mountain-wall. Once it's there, we'll push the rocks at it and crush it into poofing. Steven y-." When suddenly, the only thing escaping her mouth was bubbles.

That's when they noticed the bubble was gone.

And if the bubble was gone, that could only mean-

They turned around and saw Steven a few meters away, running towards the direction on the creature.

"Steven!" The gems groaned in annoyance, but only bubbles escaped their mouths.

Steven was running towards the creature.

"Whoa-whoaa!" He suddenly stopped abruptly. Because he was standing at the edge of a deep crater. It was deep, so deep it left eternal darkness for the eyes to see.

He sighed in relief and took a step back.

What he didn't know, was that his loud shout had attracted an un-invited guest.

Steven looked back out into the blue. But he frowned. "Huh? Where did it go?"

When suddenly, the bubble and his surroundings became suddenly so dark.

"Huh? Where did the light go?" He hummed. "Hey guys-."

He turned around.

And his heart got stuck in his throat.

Gaze black and blank, teeth bigger than him and sharper than knives, and a mouth bigger than his own house.

All belonging to the creature gazing down at him.

She was leaning against the ground behind him, her long, humongous tail laying flat against the ground and her green hair waving in the ocean.

"Steven!" Pearl tried to shout, but only bubbles escaped her mouth. "Steven! Don't make a sound!"

Garnet covered her mouth and stood before the two gems, covering them.

Of course, Steven didn't hear a sound.

He just stared in terror at the beast before him.

"Uh-uh... hi!" He stuttered. "How're you doing?" He squeaked.

The creature cocked her head to the side.

"You good? Out for a morning swim?" Steven tried to joke but was too scared to keep a straight face.

Because she couldn't say anything, Pearl gestured heavily of what on earth he was doing?!

But Garnet kept her back with one hand and hushed her.

The creature bend her head down and pushed the bubble slightly. It was not much, but it was enough for Steven to fall to his knees.

"Hey! Hey... it's okay! I'm a friend!" He tried to calm her down, lifting his hands up.

And it seemed to work. She moved back and looked at him.

Steven smiled. "There we go. Nice and easy." He swallowed nervously but still smiled. He raised up to his knees. "Hi! I'm Steven! I'm a Crystal gem!" He smiled with a wave. "We-we mean no harm. We just want to help you."

The creature started nudging it's nose against the bubble again, this time more in curiosity.

The gesture made the ball roll back a few inches.

"Hey! Hey! Easy!" Steven tried to calm it, looking over his shoulder to watch the crater behind him.

The creature calmed down.

He walked forward and rest his hand on the wall of his bubble.

"Hey! You're a cutie!" Steven laughed. "Are you lost?" He asked.

When suddenly, something loud disturbed the creature's peace.

It was a loud, but gentle song coming from afar.

The creature raised and turned it's head.

"Huh?" Steven turned his head as well.

As it turned out, it was a herd of whales passing by. There were at least twenty of them, all in different shapes and ages.

"Whoa. Whales..." Steven gasped in awe.

"Whoa..." Amethyst gasped as she and the gems saw the same thing.

"Those are whales. They have a special song. Like you!" He looked up at the creature, grinning. "It's their way of talking to each-other. And if one of them gets lost, it sings so the rest can go find him or her. And they look for him or her. They never want to leave anyone behind."

He looked at the whales and then back at the creature.

It just stared a the whales, never breaking sight. Watching them together.

But a last, she looked back at him again.

Steven slowly came to a realization. "You're lost too, aren't you?" Steven asked sadly.

The creature didn't respond, she just kept on staring at him with blank eyes.

"Are there more of you?" Steven asked her.

This time, the creature looked away, staring at the passing whales again.

Steven's smile went upside-down. "You're the only one of you, aren't you?"

The creature looked back at him again. But this time, she lowered her head so that her snout touched the surface of the bubble.

Though her face was unable to show emotions, Steven could tell she was showing tracks of sadness.

Steven looked at her sadly. "It's okay." He then smiled and rest a hand against her nose from within the bubble. "I'm the only one of me, too."

The whales started singing again and the creature looked up.

She opened her mouth slightly, and let out the tune of a song.

And what do you know, some of the whales stopped swimming and turned their attention towards her.

Steven shone up. "They understand you!" He smiled up at the creature above him. "And you understand them!"

The creature was still for a few moments, before she started to slowly swim towards the whales, carefully.

Once she was close enough, she opened her mouth and let out a beautiful song, similar to theirs.

And as a reply, a whale sang along.

And the gem, she replied back.

A whale swam above her and stroke it's back against her.

The gem let out another tune of song and swam ahead playfully.

And soon, the whole herd and the creature swam away into the distance until they were out of sight.

Steven watched with tears in his eyes.

Garnet stepped up behind him and rest a hand on the outside of his bubble. And soon, Pearl and Amethyst did the same.

Garnet looked at him as if saying, 'let's go home'.

Steven nodded and turned to walk away.

When suddenly-

The edge he was standing on was starting to loose it's structure, and it flaked into pieces until the solid ground was gone.

"Whoa! Whaaaaa!" Steven screamed as his bubble started falling, pulling down Steven with it.

"Steven!" The gems gasped through bubbles and rushed over to save him. But it was too late.

The bubble had already fallen and dragged Steven with it and all they could hear was Steven's screaming

"Steven! No!" Pearl screamed.

Amethyst quickly summoned two whips from out of her gem and gestured them for them to grab a hold of them.

Garnet and Pearl nodded.  
\-----------

Meanwhile-

Steven was falling. Everything was dark and the falling never seemed to get to an end.

"Oh no! Oh no oh no! Oh no!" Steven was starting to hyperventilate in his bubble. "Bubble! Whatever you do, don't pop!" He begged the bubble.

He was falling pretty fast, like if you threw a rock in a puddle. A very big puddle.

When suddenly, he seemed to stop falling.

"Huh?" He went down to his knees and looked down through his bubble. "For an ocean it wasn't very deep." He muttered.

It was dark, but if he squinted he could tell he wasn't at the bottom of the ocean. But his bubble had gotten stuck between mountains which seemed to get more and more together the further down you got.

"Oh man. I'm stuck." He whined. He tried to jump so that he could help the bubble upwards. But it only seemed to make it slip further down.

He tried to everything he could manage.

But at last, he had given up and sighed. "Oh man... I guess this is it... I'm stuck. And if my bubble doesn't pop and make me drown I'll for sure starve." He sat down in his bubble and rest his chin against his knees. "No more gems. No more friends. No more dad. No more Connie. No more together-breakfast, or crying breakfast friends. No more Steven." He shut his eyes with a sad sigh. "I wonder what my mom would do." He pulled his shirt up and watched the pink gem at the center of his stomach

When suddenly, something seemed to rock the bubble.

"Huh?" He looked up.

As it turned out, it was Pearl and Garnet who had landed on the bubble. They both had one of Amethyst's whips tied around their waist.

"Guys!" Steven stood up and gasped.

They both looked down and went down to their knees and palms. "Steven!" They gasped through bubbles.

When suddenly-

Something dark was approaching them from afar above them.

Steven noticed. "Guys! Guys! Look out!" He pointed towards the dark shadow approaching them.

Pearl and Garnet turned their heads. But they had barely no time to react when a mouth filled with big teeth approached them.

"GUUUYS!" Steven screamed, took a deep breath, widened his arms and clapped his hands together, opening the bubble so that Garnet and Pearl could fall inside before it closed.

But it didn't take long before they were surrounded by darkness and teeth.  
\--------

Meanwhile, back at the top of the crater, Amethyst stood holding two whips in each hand which reached down the deep.

She looked bored and frowned. "Was 'pull us up' one pull or two?" She though loud.

When suddenly something escaped from the crater in lightning speed.

It was the creature from before, holding Steven's bubble in her mouth and rose for the surface.

The whips from Garnet and Pearl still hung out of her mouth and before she knew it, Amethyst was pulled with her.

"One pull! I get it!" She shouted through bubbles. "Whoa mama!"  
\--------

Meanwhile- back at the shore, Greg was still sitting on the sand with his guitar, writing down some lyrics.

When suddenly, something hurled out of the water.

"What on earth?!" Greg gasped and stood up.

The creature found herself up out of the water and flung the bubble out of the air.

When she dove back to the water she slammed the bubble with her tail and send it, and Amethyst flying towards the shore.

The gems screamed until they slammed against the sand, creating a small crater.

Greg immediately rushed over to them. "Are you guys okay?!" He gasped.

Steven's bubble disappeared and they all laid against the sand, all worn out.

Steven sat up, all dizzy. "Now I know how a volleyball feel." He whined.

Amethyst stood up, completely covered in sand as she had been dragged against the beach. And on top of that she was covered in sea-weed.

A song caught their attention.

They looked out to the ocean where they saw a huge tail out of the water before it disappeared in the water.

"Goodbye! Safe travels!" Steven shouted, waving his hand. "Take care." A tear ran down his cheek.

Pearl rest a hand of comfort against his shoulder.

At nighttime, Greg still sat out on the shore, guitar in hand.

Steven walked out next to him.

"Hey, Stu-ball!" Greg greeted him with a smile. "Wanna hear my new tune?"

"Sure." Steven sat down and looked at him.

"One, two, three, four." Greg started playing his guitar. And began singing.

"Loneliness comes and loneliness goes.

It's hard for even those who knows, I suppose

But it all is optional

It is true

Whether i's true or if it's fictional

It is only you

Who can choose to sing along

To the lonely Siren's song.

To the lonely Siren's song

To the lonely Siren's song."

He soon stopped playing and grimaced. "Yeah, it's still a working progress." He chuckled.

But Steven smiled. "I think it was great."

And they both watched the horizon together.


	2. Mirror house

Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst and Steven were walking back to the warp pad from the strawberry battlefield.

Amethyst was all covered in strawberry-juice and Pearl proudly held a sword in her hand.

"Well, that went much easier than I expected." Pearl clapped her hands together in delight.

"Yeah! The way you jumped and speared that crab in the head! Awesome!" Amethyst made a crushing motion with her hands.

"And the way you held that crab's arm. Almost looked like strategy." Pearl sang.

"Yeah! Well, I can do that too." Amethyst blushed.

"We wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for Steven." Garnet hummed with a smile and ruffled the boy's head.

Steven grinned and laughed. "This place gets even prettier and prettier every time we get here!" He looked around at all the plants and giant strawberries around him.

"Well, it wouldn't be this 'pretty' if it wasn't for us and your mother." Pearl hummed and picked a dagger up from the ground.

"You mean because of those stories you've told me about you guys and my mom fighting gems like you but evil to protect earth?" Steven asked.

"Steven, nobody is evil." Pearl told him.

"But you said they were mean." Steven tried to reason.

Garnet stopped and rest a hand on his head. He looked up. "There's a difference between evil and being 'mean'. Everything is about perspective, Steven. For us, Homeworld was the bad guys, but for them, we were the bad guys." She explained in her plain voice. "You must learn that nobody is evil. It's just a label."

Steven's smile disappeared and he nodded understandingly.

"And they could be misunderstood too, right?" He asked as they continued walking. "Like Sirena?"

"Who?" Pearl asked.

"The corrupted gem we fought some time ago." Steven explained and looked up at Garnet. "She was misunderstood."

Garnet nodded agreeing and smiled. "Yes. Like Sirena."

"Hey Steven! Check it out!" Amethyst laughed hysterically, holding a a big strawberry in her hand. "I'm like that dude they show on the holidays!" She chewed into the strawberry, making strawberry-juice fly all direction.

Steven laughed but Pearl didn't seem that happy by almost getting hit by the juice.

"Amethyst! Stop that! You're such a ruffian." She complained, taking a step back.

"Oh, I'm sorry your Majesty. Let me change to something a bit more in your taste." Amethyst over-exaggerated a British accent and shape-shifter herself to a tall, British queen. "Better?"

"Amethyst, stop that. Overworking your shape-shifting can be dangerous for you." Pearl crossed her arms.

Amethyst shape-shifted into Pearl. "Amethyst stop that." She tried to mimic her voice.

"I don't sound like that!" Pearl complained in annoyance.

"I'm Pearl. I constantly need to make the world around me constantly perfect! Didn't anyone tell the world how I wanted it to look?!" Amethyst over-exaggerated the drama in her voice.

Steven laughed at this. Pearl was mad.

Garnet stepped forward. "Amethyst."

The tone in her voice made Amethyst react and she shape-shifted back to normal, looking away. "I was just kidding."

"It's not funny." Garnet told her seriously. "You should not make yourself act like a joke."

Amethyst tensed.

"Let's go gems!" Garnet then turned on her heels and started walking. Pearl followed.

Amethyst crossed her arms and walked further back.

Steven joined her.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Don't worry about it." Amethyst replied through gritted teeth.  
\---------------  
The warp pad light up and they all stepped into the living room.

"So when you guys fought in the war, did Amethyst fight with shape-shifting?" Steven asked Pearl as they walked further into the house.

"Oh, no. Amethyst didn't fight in the war. She hadn't emerged yet." Pearl explained as she laid the sword down on the table.

"You mean from the kindergarten?" Steven asked.

"That's right." Pearl nodded. "She didn't emerge like the rest of the amethysts, so we didn't meet her until a few years after the war." She explained as she had grabbed a cloth and started cleaning the sword.

"Do all gems look the same, or do you all look different?" Steven asked curiously as he sat on the kitchen-table.

"In general they do, yes but it often depends on the circumstances. As for Amethyst, she's..." She suddenly trailed off when she realized what she was about to say. "Um..."

"She's what?" Steven asked.

"I'm small! Okay!" Amethyst suddenly burst out and crossed her arms. "So you can stop talking about me now she looked away and blew some hair out of her face.

Everyone looked at her worriedly.

When suddenly, the there was a knock on the door and Connie opened the door.

"Steven!" She cheered.

"Connie!" Steven cheered as she rushed inside, her long hair waving behind her.

"Am I too early? I like to be on time." She asked and apologized. "It's so cool that you and the gems let me go with you to Funland today!" She grinned excitedly.

"Yeah! It's gonna be so cool!" Steven cheered.

Amethyst watched the two kids cheer from the warp pad. But she couldn't help but glance at the big painting of a woman with big, pink curly hair on the wall.  
\----------------  
The next thing they knew was that they were inside Funland's gates.

The place was filled with people, mostly children who played all games and rode the attractions.

They had been inside for a quite a while and they had had a good time.

The kids had rode all the attraction, played all the games, won many toys and been in all the houses

At one time they had stepped inside the mirror-house and laughed their butt's off.

Pearl had gotten a reflection of herself as super bloated like a ball and Garnet was super short and chubby.

Amethyst had seen herself as tall and muscular. But she didn't find it that funny.

Pearl had gotten terrified by the reflection and Garnet had just made a thumb's up.

Soon they had gone to the Arcade, where there were kids everywhere playing games.

Steven and Connie laughed as they ran inside, holding bags with coins in their hands.

Pearl and Amethyst walked behind them. Garnet was behind, holding two large bears in her arms. One blue and one red.

"Come on Garnet! I think you'll like this one!" Steven called.

There was a statue in the entrance of mr. Smiley saying: "Welcome!"

Garnet just laid the bears in the statue's arms and walked over to the boy.

Connie led Pearl to a car-game, where she sat down in a car and watched a screen in front of her.

"Now, you'll just drive!" Connie instructed her.

"But where are my breaks?" Pearl asked worriedly.

"Well, there are none." Connie shrugged.

"What?! That's terrible!" Pearl gasped.

"You're terrible!" The game shouted and Pearl gave it a dead glare.

"I think this game fits you great, Garnet!" Steven pulled Garnet over to a game called 'Wolf Town'. "I've never won, but I'm sure you can do it! Just hit it!"

The wolf on the screen with sunglasses said something. "Come on kid! Show me what you got!"

Garnet slammed her fist into the screen, breaking it immediately.

She pulled her fist out and smiled proudly. "I did it."

"Hey! What was that?!" An angry voice shouted.

Steven tensed and grabbed Garnet's hand. "Uhh, okay. I think we better go now."

He started walking and pulled Pearl along with him. "Come on, Pearl."

"Thank goodness." Pearl muttered as she was lead outside.

"Amethyst! We're leaving!" Steven shouted.

"Finally." Amethyst muttered, having cheated on almost every game and followed them in boredom.  
\-----------------  
After a few moments, they all except Garnet sat on a bench in the amusement park. Steven was munching happily on a blue and pink cotton candy and Connie drank some soda, sitting on the ground beside Steven.

"Well, that was... fun?" Pearl tried to complement the day. "Humans have such bizarre ways to waste their time." She hummed.

"It sure is better than listening to you all day. I'm gonna go find some free snacks." Amethyst muttered, throwing a whole can of soda into her mouth and swallowed. Pearl glared at her as Amethyst stood up and started searching in a trash-can.

Connie and Steven was starting to feel the tension and Connie cleared her throat. "So, ma'm. Steven said that Amethyst never fought with you and his mother in the war. How come?" She asked.

"Oh, well you see Connie. Amethyst burst to life inside of the Kindergarten like all other amethysts." Pearl began explaining.

"Kindergarten... is that the really scary place that doesn't grow life anymore?" Connie asked unsure.

"Yes, that's right." Pearl nodded, summoning a projection of the desert kindergarten and injectors through her gem. "But Amethyst didn't emerge at the exact time as the others. She stayed in the ground for another 500 hundred years and came out... well..." Her projection disappeared.

Amethyst tensed.

"Well what?"

When suddenly, Amethyst clenched her fist. She picked up a soda can from the ground and threw it.

It hit Pearl in the chest, splashing soda all over her. "Gahh!" She gasped and looked up in annoyance.

Amethyst just glared at her.

Pearl glared back. She stood up. "I'm gonna go look for Garnet." She said as she turned around to leave "Glad there's at least one who acts like the bigger gem." She muttered.

That was the breaking point for Amethyst. She summoned her weapon.

It wrapped itself around Pearl's wrist, and she stopped.

She summoned her spear and in a second cut the whip off and turned around, weapon ready in hand.

"Amethyst! I don't want to fight you!" She roared her, aiming her spear down at her.

Amethyst raised her head, fire in her eyes. "I wouldn't want to fight me neither!"

"Guys!" Steven shouted.

"I'll go get Garnet!" Connie announced, pointing towards the one direction before running off.

Steven watched her leave and looked at the duo of gems in terror.

And so, the fight began. Amethyst started, swinging her whips at Pearl. Pearl jumped over them and cut them off with her spear.

Amethyst wrapped her whip around Pearl's leg and threw her into a building. Or rather, through the entrance.

Amethyst ran after inside the building.

As it turned out, it was the mirror-house from before.

It was very dark and there were mirrors everywhere. She walked inside.

"Show yourself Pearl!" She shouted angrily. "Don't be such a coward!"

She heard a creak and immediately swung her whip behind her, breaking a mirror.

She turned around again, teeth grit.

"I didn't want it to be this way! Okay?!" She shouted breaking another mirror. "I didn't ask to come out of that place! I didn't ask to come out wrong! Or destroying that part of the earth! I didn't ask for any of that!"

Pearl hid further behind one of the mirrors, holding her whip.

"I'm not gonna let you stand there and remind me of everything I HATE about myself!" She shouted and swung her whip, cutting another mirror in half.

Pearl moved her foot, but accidentally moved some glass.

Amethyst heard and tensed. She clenched her whips and turned around, whips glowing like lightnings.

There she was!

But...it wasn't... Pearl.

She was still tall, really tall. But had a robust build, purple skin and long, white hair that waved behind her back. She looked angry, no, furious. And she was aiming two whips at her.

Amethyst grit her teeth as the tears started to stream down her cheeks.

Slowly, after a long time, she let her whips fall to the ground. She looked down, her eyes covered by her long hair.

Pearl slowly walked out from her hiding spot and walked over to her.

"Rose thought I was perfect..." Amethyst began quietly, sitting down on her knees. "Just the way I am..."

Pearl rest a hand against her shoulder. "She still does." She went down on her knees, just in time for Amethyst to spin around and hug her tightly. Pearl was surprised at first, but quickly gave in with a soft smile.

She stroke her head soothingly.

Steven smiled as she watched him from the exit. Until:

"What the heck has happened to my mirror-room?!" Mr. Smiley suddenly shouted out in alarm from beside him.

Just in time, Connie along with Garnet had approached the scene. Connie looked around, confused.

"What has...?" She began, but then looked at Steven. "I don't need to know..."

Mr. Smiley looked around, watching almost every mirror in the room being cut in half our shattered on the ground.

His eyes started to get read. "Who is responsible for this?!" He saw Amethyst and Pearl, who stood up and looked at him oddly. "You two! Did you cause all this?!" He turned towards the boy beside him. "Steven! Care to explain why your family has destroyed my whole attraction?!"

"Um... Uh... you see..." Steven squeaked nervously.

Then, he turned back towards the two oddly colored women. "You two! Egg-head and Lump Princess, you better clean this up!"

"What?! No way!" Amethyst shouted as Pearl crossed her arms.

"Garnet, help us out here." She hissed nervously towards their leader.

"Don't act like children, Pearl. Accept your faith." Garnet crossed her arms. "Act like a gem."

That's when Mr. Smiley angrily turned towards the woman. "Hey! Wasn't it you who destroyed my Wolf Town?!" He shouted. "You better pay up for that or else I'm calling the police!"

"Good luck. Read the law-book and call me when you find the chapter 'arrest of aliens'." Garnet shrugged and walked away.

Pearl walked after him, summoned a huge book from her gem and handed him the book. "Here you go."

"Whooo! Shut down by the G-squad and P-dawg!" Amethyst cheered as they all left the room..

Steven just laughed nervously before running out of the building.  
\-------------------  
At the way home, Steven sat on Garnet's shoulders and Connie walked beside her, talking.

Pearl and Amethyst walked further back. They looked uncomfortable, like when something really awkward just happened and no one dares bring it up.

Pearl took a deep breath. "Amethyst..."

Amethyst frowned.

"I never thought of the Kindergarten as your fault. I mean, you didn't make that place. It wasn't your work." Pearl tried to explain nervously. "I... I never thought that you were... upset about that."

Amethyst snorted. "Yeah, it isn't so that it's my whole existence or anything." She snapped. "Yeah, I'm soo okay with you blaming me because I'm wrong and all..." She said ironically.

"Amethyst! No!" Pearl gasped. "No, Amethyst, you're not wrong. I never though you were..." Amethyst looked away and Pearl sighed helplessly, covering her mouth with one hand. "No..."

"Amethyst." She rest a hand on her shoulder and Amethyst kept looking at the ground. "You're not wrong."

A long tear ran down Amethyst's cheek.

"Wrong is just a label. Yes, to Homeworld they most likely see you as... incomplete, but we..." Pearl looked up at the gem, human and half human before them. "...to us you're perfect."

Amethyst's eyes widened.

"It's all about perspective." Pearl ended, squeezing her shoulder.

Amethyst looked up at Pearl.

Pearl smiled gently at her.

A soft blush grew on Amethyst's face and a faint smile.

She dried the tear away and then hardly hit Pearl in the arm with her elbow.

"Ow!" Pearl rubbed her arm but when Amethyst grinned at her, she smiled back.

What they didn't know was that Steven had watched them from Garnet's shoulders.

He smiled.


	3. The Mirror

The warp pad light up and Steven, Amethyst and Pearl stepped off.

Though, they were not in the living room. They were on a place which looked like one big warp pad in the middle of the ocean, with smaller warp pads on top of it.

"I swear I saw it here." Pearl said in a whisper as she looked around.

"Whatever it was it's gone." Garnet commented as they spread out to start looking.

Steven jumped up on a warp pad, all broken and said: "What exactly is 'here?'" He asked.

"You've been here before." Garnet commented plainly as she searched.

"Yeah, but you never told me what this place is." Steven said.

"It's called the galaxy warp. Thousands of years ago it was the perfect passage between other worlds and earth." Pearl explained. "Though, after the rebellion we made sure to destroy the easiest way for homeworld gems to get here." She looked at the biggest of the warp pads, all broken. She then sighed heavily. "And the easiest way for us to go home."

"You were from space. Right, Pearl?" Steven asked.

"Yes, that's true." Pearl nodded.

"Garnet?"

"Yes." Garnet answered.

"Were Ruby and Sapphire from space too?" Steven asked.

"That's right." Garnet nodded.

"Don't you ever miss it?" Steven asked.

"We fought against our homeworld to protect earth." Garnet replied.

"Yes! Although, it happens to everyone that you sometimes get..." Pearl sighed heavily. "Homesick."

"Speak for yourself." Amethyst snapped, kicking a rock on the ground. "I don't miss anything."

Pearl rolled her eyes.

They all continued searching on the big warp.

"Why haven't you brought me to space?" Steven asked.

Everyone tensed and shared a glance. They looked just like they didn't know what to say.

"Well..." Pearl began unsure, playing with her hands. She looked at the gems for help, but they looked as clueless as her. "You see... you know how we always say... uh..." She stuttered.

Garnet walked up to him and rest a hand on his head. "We have our reasons. Let's leave it at that for now."

Steven looked like he wanted to protest. But he just nodded.  
\-----------------------  
The warp pad flashed again and this time the group entered the living-room.

"The creature made its way through the ocean. That's how it got to the galaxy warp." Garnet stated, adjusting her visor. "Get ready for a swim, gems." She demanded before entering the temple.

"Greaat..." Amethyst cheered ironically as she walked inside the temple as well.

Pearl walked over and started organizing the dishes. Steven jumped off the warp-pad, jumping oddly

"In space, do you guys jump around like they do in the movies?" Steven asked as he jumped around as an astronaut.

"No. Our bodies are originally programmed to reverse any type of gravity effect." Pearl explained as she put a plate in one of the cabinets.

Steven stopped dead in disappointment. But rather quickly, he grinned again. "Do you guys need special helmets depending on what planet you are on?" He asked as he started jumping again.

"No, gems don't need to breathe so that's not any problem." Pearl answered as she put another plate into a cabinet.

Once again, Steven stopped and pouted in disappointment. "Do you-."

"Steven." Pearl turned around in in slight annoyance. "I would usually love explaining all this to you. But today is not a good day." She told him.

"But I have so many questions." Steven squeaked.

Pearl sighed heavily and raised her hands to her head. And from her gem, she summoned something.

It was a mirror, a blue beautiful mirror with a blue gem on the back-side.

"We found this artifact on the galaxy warp over 5.000 years ago." Pearl explained. "It had the ability to show any place it has witnessed during its whole existence."

"Whoaa..." Steven gasped in awe.

Pearl grabbed the mirror and handed it to Steven. "Here. Maybe this can answer your questions." She told him.

"Whoaaaa." Steven sighed in awe as he watched the mirror.

The temple door opened and Garnet and Amethyst walked out into the living-room. "Gems! Let's go!" Garnet demanded.

"Wait! I can't go with you?!" Steven gasped.

"The creature was seen in the middle of the ocean." Garnet said.

"And you need air to breathe." Pearl added.

"See ya dude!" Amethyst shouted before they exit the house, shutting the door behind them.

Steven watched them leave. But his attention was quickly turned to the mirror in his hands.

"Hi lil' buddy! I'm Steven! I'm a crystal gem!" He cheered, grinning from ear to ear. "Now, what should I ask you...?... " He thought loudly. "Show me... the galaxy warp!"

The mirror's glass changed and indeed showed a picture of the galaxy warp.

"Whoaa, cool!" Steven's eyes had stars in them.

"Hi-Steven!-." The mirror suddenly repeated.

Steven gasped. "You can mimic me?!" He grinned.

"Whoaa, cool!" The mirror repeated.

Steven laughed.  
\-----------------------  
At nighttime, Steven was sitting in the darkness of the room with the mirror. They had such a riot. They laughed, they joked and every now and then made fart noises from some reason.

Steven laughed. "Okay! Okay, next one. Which one would you choose: to never brush your teeth or never brush your hair?"

"Brush your teeth." The mirror repeated.

"Eww! Noo! Gross!" Steven laughed. "Oh, mirror. You're a riot."

The mirror made a farting noise and Steven laughed even louder.

He looked at the clock on the wall.

"The gems are usually home by now." He hummed worriedly. "They're gonna flip when I show you to them!"

"Noo!" The mirror suddenly screamed.

"Hey, hey. Don't be shy. They're friendly." Steven tried to calm it down.

"Noo!" The mirror screamed.

"You... don't want me to show you to them?" Steven asked, starting to get suspicious.

"Noo!"

This time, he almost dropped it and held it harder. "Okay! Okay! I won't tell them! Shh." He stroke the side of the mirror with his hand. "I won't tell them, lil' buddy. That's a promise."

"Promise." The mirror repeated.

"Promise." Steven nodded.

The mirror was quiet for a few moments. Until-

"You're a riot- Steven." It spoke.

A soft blush grew on Steven's cheeks.

When suddenly, the door opened and the gems entered the house.

Steven practically jumped and hid the mirror beneath a blanket beside him.

The gems stepped inside and shut the door behind them, all wet and tired.

"How did it go?" Steven asked.

Garnet tapped the bubble in her hand with a gem in it and send it back to the temple. "It's done." She ruffled his hair as she passed him and entered the temple.

Amethyst snatched a bag of chips from the cabinet and sneaked inside the temple as well.

Pearl sat beside Steven on the couch with a heavy sigh, drying herself off with a dry towel.

Steven nervously moved a a few inches away from her.

Pearl then rest back against the couch. She took a deep breath. "Steven."

Steven quickly turned his head towards her.

"You remember earlier today, when you asked me why we never brought you to space?" She asked him.

"Oh. That. Look, I'm sorry I overreacted. I just-." Steven immediately started apologizing.

"No. You don't have to explain yourself." Pearl cut him off. "I should have known you wanted to explore your gem-heritage as well. I just thought..." She sighed. "It could have waited a couple years."

Steven smiled. "It's fine."

"No it's not." Pearl cut him off. "Steven, I know our choices doesn't always enjoy you. But... sometimes there are un-written rules you don't know about." She explained. "We fought for this place for over 5.000 years and... like Garnet said, we had our reasons."

Steven listened.

"It's not that we thought you weren't ready. You have surprised everyone of us so many times already." She smiled for a split second. But then, she looked down again. "I guess I just thought that... I was afraid you'd see the whole picture."

"What do you mean?" Steven asked.

"It's not always good to think too big. If you're thinking too big, reality gets smaller. And if reality gets too small... it will never be enough for you." Pearl tried to explain.

Steven just looked at her as she spoke.

"And... I guess I was afraid that..." Pearl continued. "If you saw... space... you would see earth through a whole new perspective. And maybe I was afraid that... home wouldn't be enough for you anymore. And maybe feel like... we weren't enough for you."

She then began laughing. "You can hear that I've been talking to Garnet, can't you?" She smiled.

"A little." Steven smiled.

Pearl laughed. Until she leaned back and sighed heavily. "Your mother..." She looked up at the painting above her.

"There was a time when she was happy with what she had. But when time gave her too big of a perspective... nothing ever seemed to be enough for her. Not even me..." She sighed heavily and just stared at nothing.

Steven was quiet for a few moments.

Until he suddenly rest his head against her shoulder, surprising her. "Well... you're enough for me."

A long tear ran down Pearl's cheek.

She dried it away and rest her hand on Steven's shoulder. "Thank you, Steven."

When suddenly, there was a farting noise coming from out of nowhere.

"What was that?" Pearl asked.

"Nothing!" Steven shouted, quickly covered the blanket with his hands and grinning nervously.


	4. The Storm

"And now to the weather."

"A big storm is heading to Beach City. Citizens of the small town has chose to call it 'The Big Wave', a name after the 1931 great storm called 'The wave'. Citizens of the affected areas are once again being asked to move to the designated shelter at Beach City Library, and wait out the storm until it passes.

For now we advise you to tie down everything which has high risk of blowing away and bring out the candles for there are high risk of power failure during the night. And back to other news, today-."

Greg turned off the radio before he closed the van-doors.

"Was that everything?" Pearl asked as she approached him on the beach.

"Yep. That's about it." Greg replied supporting his back with his hands.

"I still don't get why we can't stay at the temple. Where it's much safer." Amethyst pouted, crossing her arms.

"Steven and Greg wanted to give their supports to the people." Pearl explained. "And we are here to support their intentions."

"Besides! How often do we have the whole town at one place all at once!" Steven grinned as he joined them, putting his cheese burger bag-pack on his back. "It could be fun to meet someone I don't know yet!"

"Yes, quite fun, Steven." Pearl said and pat him on his head, clearly distracted. "I wonder if the washing-machine will hold up there." She hummed.

"I think Garnet already tied them." Amethyst said as she threw a big inside the front.

"Good, good." Pearl nodded, thinking. "I still can't help but think we've forgotten something..." She hummed.

Meanwhile back in the house in Steven's room, Steven laid on his stomach on his bed, holding his mirror

"Okay, okay! I got one!" He cheered. "Would you either always tell lies or always tell the truth?" He asked.

The mirror just showed a picture of what would only be described as a TV without reception.

"You don't know, huh? I think I would choose... to always tell the truth. Because that way you can just go around it all." Steven explained.

The mirror laughed.

Steven laughed too. "Oh, lil' buddy. You know so much about me. But I don't know anything about you." He sighed as stroke the mirror's side smoothly. "Who are you? Where do you come from?" He asked dreamily.

The mirror became quiet for a long time.

"Lil' buddy?" Steven asked. "You there?"

"Steven! We're leaving!" Pearl shouted from downstairs.

"Coming!" Steven called back and sat up, grabbing his cheese-burger bag-pack. "You're coming with me!" He grabbed the mirror and put it in his bag-pack before zipping it close.

He then dashed down the stairs.  
\-----------------  
Back at Beach City library, the whole population of the city had gathered outside.

Cars were parked outside and they were all greeted by Pearl and Mayor Dewey.

"Welcome!" Mayor Dewey greeted them.

"Yes! Welcome earthlings! Here, a 'welcome to the shelter for nearly death by a storm' gift. I heard those are quite popular." And from her gem, she summoned some toilet paper and handed it to the dad of the family. "Don't use it all at once. It's so boring cleaning it off." She told them.

"Uhhh... thanks?" The dad muttered.

"Come on kids, let's go inside." Their mother quickly pushed the children inside and the dad followed.

"Happy 'storm' day!" Pearl sang, waving after them.

"Uhh, P. Welcoming people maybe isn't your thing." Amethyst muttered as she walked over to her.

"What? Vandalism is boring cleaning." Pearl replied in confusion.

Not long after, Mr. Fryman and his sons approached the entrance, holding their luggage and pillows. But Mr. Fryman quickly was put off by the gems's presence.

"Oh, it's you guys." He muttered bitterly. "Can't you ladies stop the storm with your 'magic' powers or 'objects' or what not?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Oh, well. No. The Weather verifier, I'm afraid, has been lost under sea for approximately 896 years." Pearl answered politely. "We would offer you the temple-." Pearl began explaining.

"No we wouldn't." Garnet suddenly cut in as she walked by with a bag over her shoulder.

"Ehhh." Pearl sweated slightly, but then cleared her throat. "BUT we are afraid that it's too dangerous for humans like you."

"Protectors of earth, huh?" Lars muttered as he passed and walked inside the doors. "Yeah right."

"Can't even help the people in one city!" Kofi scoffed as he also passed by.

What they hadn't known was that Steven had stood by and listened. And he did not enjoy what they were saying.

When a hand rest against his shoulder

"Come on, Stu-Ball. We have to go in there before the others takes the best spots." Greg told him

The whole town, which meant not that many people really, had gathered inside the big halls of the library. The majority of all the shelves had been moved from their places to block the entrance doors in case water would pour inside.

In doors were the usual people we know: Fryman and his sons, Kofi with his daughters, Mr. Smiley, Sadie, Barb, and Lars, Mr. Dewey and his son, Vidalia and Yellowtail with their sons, Jane, Kevin, Jamie, the Maheswarans, the Barigas, suitcase guy and many other characters we never got to know.

Right now, everyone were preparing their current sleeping spots.

Some were still given their sleeping bags and pillows by the entrance, some had already started embedding their bedclothes and some were either eating or being given soup from the Mayor with voluntary citizens helping.

One of those who had started eating were the Pizza family sitting in a circle with some of the other citizens.

"Wow, it's really pouring down out there." Kiki said as she looked out the windows.

"They call this 'storm?' I've seen worse back in the fall of 83 when-." Kofi began.

"Yeah, yeah, daddy. We know the story." Jenny silenced him and Kiki gave his back a few supporting packs.

"Where are those stupid magic ladies anyway?! They are always telling us they're here to protect us but they're not here when we need them!"

"Don't be rude, Kofi." Nanefua scolded at him. "The gems might be different from the rest of us but they're only trying to help."

"Help?!" Kofi burst out, his anger starting to bubble up. "Do you see any magic ladies around here?" He gestured to the room surrounding them. "No! Neither do I! The only 'help' they have given us today is toilet-paper and taking what's left of the shelves!" He gestured towards a part of the library, where there stood a wall of three shelves.

"Kofi! No need to shout! There are children here!" Nanefua scolded at him in a hushed tone.

"I think I gotta agree with old fishy here." Mr. Fryman suddenly cut in, sitting down beside Kofi with a bowl of soup. "I mean- the gems haven't done anything towards us but... they're kind of the reason we always need protection."

Kofi nodded in stern agreement.

"All I'm saying is that." Mr. Fryman began, mixing his soup with a plastic spoon. "... I don't know anything about gems, not how they are or their society. I mean one of them could drown us in our sleep if we have bad luck. And they maybe have had it hard and made some enemies during their years. What I want to say is..." He took a deep breath. "... if beach city is going to survive...the magic ladies has to go."

What they hadn't known was that Amethyst had been sitting in the room beside them, leaned against the wall, listening to their words. Or, room wasn't quite the word. They had used the shelves of the library to make a small room against the wall, and the 'wall' she was leaning against, were one of the shelves.

She looked sad, if not more disappointed. But at last she stood up and walked over to the rest of her family, who were preparing for the night.

Or at least, they were preparing the night for Steven and Greg.

"And there, and here and... we're done!" Greg grinned in victory as he un-raveled a second seeping bag.

"Yay! The sleeping bag duo!" Steven cheered with his arms up in the air.

When suddenly, the light disappeared around them, leaving them in darkness.

Pearl sighed heavily, her gem glowing up to be used as a flashlight. "Well, we can say goodbye to those fuses."

As Garnet and Amethyst used their gems as flashlights too, Steven pulled out a flashlight of his own.

"Hey! Where did the light go?!" They heard Mr. Fryman shout.

"Oh, don't worry! Just make up a fire with some sticks! Like you always did before!" Pearl shouted.

Amethyst pulled the bow on Pearl's back. "P, that was thousands of years ago."

"So? Are humans really that forgetful?" Pearl asked confused.

"I'm gonna get some soup." Steven told them as he pulled on his back-pack, stood up and walked out of their 'room'.

He walked across the floor of people in the darkness, over to the food-station.

He grabbed a plate and was just about to pour some soup in his plate when someone suddenly pushed him from behind.

"Hey!" He gasped in surprise.

"Oh, sorry!" A familiar voice apologized.

"Connie!" Steven cheered.

"Steven!" Connie gasped and they went in for a hug.

"I thought you were out of town this week." Steven said in confusion.

"They cut off all trains because of the storm." Connie explained. She turned around and waved at someone.

As it turned out, it was her parents sitting in a corner further back.

Steven smiled and waved too. "Hi Mr. And Mrs. Maheswaran!" He shouted.

"Hello!" Connie's dad called back.

Connie turned back to Steven. "So, w-."

When suddenly, the windows crashed into pieces with a deafening sound. And soon, water from the outside started filling the inside of the library.

Everyone flew up to their feet with a gasp.

The gems rushed out from the shelves.

"I told you those windows wouldn't hold." Pearl hummed, crossing her arms.

"Who cares?! It's pouring water!" Amethyst shouted, alerting Pearl again. They looked down and backed away as water had started reaching their feet.

"Now now! There's no need to panic!" Mayor Dewey tried to calm them all, though he looked as scared as them. Even if he sat on the shoulders of one of his life-guards.

"We need to get to higher levels." Garnet stated and turned her head towards the small quartz. "Amethyst, turn yourselves to a ladder!" Garnet ordered.

"Ay ay, Garnet!" Amethyst gave her a thumbs up before shapeshifting into a ladder which reached the ceiling.

Garnet turned to Greg. "The upstairs won't hold for everyone. We need to find an exit. Fast." She commanded.

"Got it." Greg nodded.

Garnet nodded back before she and Pearl dashed for the latter and climber up-stairs.

"Amethyst!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." Amethyst muttered as she shape-shifted back to normal and followed them upstairs.

Not long after, the gems were standing at the top of the roof, watching the chaos in the pouring rain.

"We need to take the humans to a dry place, with shelter from the storm." Garnet stated.

"Maybe we can bring them to the school? We can give them shelter there in the gymnastic hall." Pearl suggested.

"What's the point? They don't even want us here." Amethyst suddenly muttered, leaning against the wall beside her.

"What are you talking about?" Pearl asked her, she and Garnet looking at her confused.

"We can talk about that later! What the town's people says and don't say doesn't matter right now!" Garnet demanded.

The water had rose to a level where the cars were starting to move on their own.

"The cars won't get anywhere!" Pearl gasped. "They're trapped!"

"Unless someone carries them." Amethyst muttered.

And that's where the idea popped up.

"We'll need more arms." Pearl looked at Garnet.

"Amethyst, your shapeshifting." Garnet said as a question and they both looked at her worriedly.

"Hey! Dudes! I'll be fine! I'm not that tired!" Amethyst shrugged, though you could see her restrain herself.

"We need to inform the humans!" Garnet said and they nodded before rushing down-stairs again.  
\-----------------  
Steven stood up on a table, waving his arms.

"Everyone! Get inside your vehicles! Try to fit as many as you can!" He shouted. "If we just stay calm, we can carry you all to safety!"

Greg ran into the crowd, wearing a blue poncho.

"Everybody! Follow me!" He waved for them to follow him and they all followed him to the parking-lot.  
\---------------  
Outside, the gems had begun their synchronization.

Garnet tapped the rhythm on her visor as the others danced. They ended up holding hands and they all disappeared into a bright, white light. They were soon replaced by a giant with long, green hair, purple skin and six arms.

Meanwhile, Steven was led the people to the cars.

"Put your seatbelts on. And those who has no seatbelts, hold on tight. It's gonna be a bumpy ride." He told them as they sat down in the car.

Mr. Fryman nodded, holding Peedee in his lap. "Thank you Steven." He said as Steven walked outside and shut the door behind him.

"I found another one!" Greg called, standing by a tipped car.

Not long after, Greg and Yellowtail joined him in pushing the car back on it's wheels. It was quite heavy but they managed.

Greg sighed tiredly. "Yellowtail, get your family inside. I'll be fine." He told his friend.

"Muh muh muh muh muh!" Yellowtail shouted, waving his arms.

Soon, Vidalia with Onion in her arms and Sour Cream came running

Alexandrite went down to her knees beside Steven.

"Take them to the school. Me and dad will try to find more people." He smiled up at her. "How're you holding up?"

Alexandrite didn't seem that touched by the situation, but he could see the sweat on her forehead.

"Keep it together. One more round and we're done." Steven told her encouraging, patting her leg.

In the next scene he closed one last door before waving at Alexandrite.

Alexandrite huffed a cloud of smoke out of her mouth before standing up, holding one car is each hand.

The people in the cars all screamed a bit as they were lifted up.

And then, Alexandrite ran off, holding the cars close and making the whole ground shake.

Steven watched her run away, his yellow poncho almost blowing away.

"Steven!" A familiar voice called behind him.

"Huh?" He turned around and saw Connie, also dressed in a yellow poncho with the hood up, running towards him. "Connie?! What are you doing here?! You should be in one of the cars!"

"Steven! Was my mom in any of those cars?!" Connie blurted in panic.

"Uh... no! No, I don't think so!" Steven called back.

"Steven! I need to find her!" Connie shouted desperately.

"I'll help you! Hang on a sec-." He raised his hand and summoned his shield, which covered them both like an umbrella. He adjusted the bag-pack on his back and nodded. "Let's go!"

Five minutes later they had gone further into the town, searching.

"I don't see her anywhere!" Connie shouted through the tough wind.

"Maybe she's already at the school!" Steven shouted back.

When suddenly-

There were loud, thundering footsteps not far from them.

More precisely, behind them.

They turned around.

Something climbed up the building behind them. Something big. It climbed up to the roof.

It had a big upper body and just two muscular arms as legs. It had a long tail hanging behind it and a mouth with humongous teeth.

It stood on the roof, smelling the roof tiles.

"What is that?!" Connie exclaimed.

Steven squinted his eyes. And what he managed to see a was gem at the middle of the creature's chest.

"It's a gem!" He gasped.

"B-but what does it want?!" Connie asked in panic.

"Don't move!" Steven said, suddenly standing still. "Maybe if we're completely still it won't see us. I saw it in a movie once!" He whispered through gritted teeth. Connie stood still as well.

The creature saw them and cocked it's head to the side.

"I think it's working!" Connie whispered.

When suddenly, the creature opened it's mouth and let out a ROAR.

Steven and Connie screamed and ran away. "Stupid movie logic!" Steven shouted as they screamed.

The creature climbed up the roof and began chasing them.

"We need to lead it away from the people!" Steven shouted.

"But how?!"

Steven looked around. And that's when he noticed a hill with the town's water-tower standing on it at the edge of town.

"Wee need to get it to the water-tower!" He shouted.

"What?!" Connie blurted. "Steven! We're in the middle of a flood! I don't think we need more water right now!"

"Just trust me!" Steven shouted and changed direction.

They ran through the town.

The creature ran after, stumbling and falling into every building it came in touch with.

When suddenly, Connie's phone started ringing. She picked it up and held her phone to her ear.

"Hello? MOM! Where are you?! Yes, I'm okay. No. Mom-Mom-MOM! I can't talk right now! I'll explain later! Bye!" She shut her phone and put it in her pocket.

"My mom's okay! She's already by the school!" She announced.

Steven nodded and continued heading to their destination.

At long last, they had reached the water-tower.

"Now what?" Connie asked.

Steven summoned his shield and started cutting it into the pillar holding the water-tower up.

Connie saw how the creature approached quickly.

"Steven-."

"Now now!" Steven grunted, cutting the pillar.

It was even closer.

"Steven!" Connie shook his shoulder.

"Almost there..." Steven was getting tired and the cutting took alot of effort.

"STEVEN!" Connie ducked and pulled Steven with her as a big mouth with teeth flung itself down on them.

But to their surprise, something suddenly pulled the creature back.

"Huh?" They looked up to see the creature being held back by something big.

"Alexandrite!" Connie gasped.

Alexandrite held the creature hard in her grip before she gave it a punch to the jaw and the kick in the stomach.

The creature fell hard to the ground, just meters away from Connie and Steven.

"Steven run!" Alexandrite shouted with her raspy voice.

The creature was starting to get up on it's arms.

"Run! Run!" Steven grabbed Connie by the hand as ran away.

They ran for a while, until Steven's bag-pack suddenly accidentally slipped off his back.

"Oh no!" He gasped and ran back to pick it up. He grabbed it opened it and picked the mirror up. Which had a huge crack in the glass.

"Lil' buddy!" He gasped. "Lil' buddy! What are we going to do?!" He asked. "Please! We need help!"

When suddenly, the glass light up.

"-deal-." It spoke.

"Huh?" Steven gasped in confusion. "Deal?"

"-Lil' buddy- help!- Steven- let- me- OUT." The mirror spoke.

"I- I don't understand!" Steven stuttered. "Who are you?!"

"Away- from -home." The mirror repeated. "Let- me- OUT!"

"I- I don't know how!" Steven stuttered.

When suddenly, the mirror showed him a movie.

It was himself, grabbing a hold of the gem on the mirror's backside and pulling it off.

Steven turned the mirror around, watching the blue gem on the backside.

He nodded determined.

He put his hand on the gem and started pulling. But it was stuck.

What he didn't notice, was the raindrops around them seemed to stop pouring. They stopped mid-air.

Connie noticed this and stopped her running.

"Huh?" She turned around and saw Steven trying to pull the gem off the mirror. "Steven!" She shouted and began running back.

Steven continued pulling.

"Steven no!" Connie shouted.

He pulled the gem up and held it up. The glass of the mirror chattered into pieces and the gem flew away in his grip.

A silhouette appeared out of the gem of a gem wearing a two-piece dress and short hair and she dropped to her knees.

Steven gasped and rushed over. But as he was about to touch her, a pair of dark eyes stared back at him.

"Thank you." She stood up but almost immediately fell. But Steven was there to catch her. "I can't believe it. You helped me!" She stood up. "It's Steven, right?"

Steven nodded.

"Are you really a crystal gem?" The gem asked.

"I-." When suddenly, they heard a roar which made them turn around.

The gem tried to slam Alexandrite with it's tail, but Alexandrite grabbed it with six arms, pulled it towards her and kicked it in the stomach again.

The creature fell back and hit the water-tower behind her.

The water-tower pillars gave away to the hit and broke. The water-towel slowly started falling and fell right on the creature.

The creature didn't have time to react, and it all went so fast for her to do anything before she got poofed beneath the huge water-tower.

Alexandrite watched it all, believing it was over.

But it wasn't.

The head was starting to crack, quickly.

And soon, the water, among all the already raised water from the flood, created a wave which headed right towards-

"AHH! RUN!" Steven screamed as he and and Connie took off running.

But the blue gem remained where she was.

Steven stopped. "Huh?"

The blue gem raised her arms and shut her eyes. She took a deep breath.

And just like that, the water stopped. And the rain. Like a time stopped.

"Whoa..." Steven gasped in wonder.

Alexandrite noticed this too and looked in wonder. But she soon noticed-

That Steven and Connie hadn't gone that far away.

"Kids!" She roared and took off running their direction.

Her sudden roar startled the blue gem and she lost her concentration.

The rain dropped and the water did too and was raging towards them.

"Lil' buddy!" Steven shouted, reaching a hand out for her.

The gem turned around. "Steven. Come with me."

"W-where?!" Steven stuttered.

The gem saddened. "Home."

"B-b-but-." Steven stuttered.

The gem frowned. "Fine. Goodbye." The water slammed into her like if it hit a rock. And she was soon gone.

"Lil' buddy..." Steven sighed.

He and Connie had just noticed the ground shaking before Alexandrite hovered them up in her hands and continued running.

"Alexandrite! Are you okay?!" Connie shouted.

Alexandrite didn't answer. She did huff a cloud of smoke through her second mouth before she headed for Beach City school.

But Steven couldn't hell but look back after the gem.

But she was gone.  
\-----------------------  
Back at the school, Greg was trying to help the people the best way he could.

"Aren't they back yet?" Vidalia asked as Greg handed her another blanket.

"No." Greg shook his head. "But it's okay. They're gems. They always find a way."

When suddenly, loud, thunderous footsteps startled them all.

Alexandrite used her last big of strength to walk up to the school and let Steven and Connie down to the ground.

"Stu-Ball!" Greg ran over and hugged his son.

"Connie!" Mr and mrs. Maheswaran ran over and embraced their daughter. "Thank goodness, you're safe!

"Ugh.. ARRGH!" Alexandrite grunted as she started to glow bright and soon, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl fell to the ground.

"Guys!" Steven cried and rushed over to them.

Garnet and Pearl had already gotten to their knees and was there to receive his hugs.

"A-are you guys okay?" He asked worriedly.

Garnet smiled and put a hand to his cheek. "We're fine, Steven."

They turned their heads as they heard Amethyst groan.

Amethyst gave them a thumbs-up, face down in the ground. "I'm alive."

"Are you guys okay?!" Greg asked as he rushed over.

"We're fine." Garnet answered as she stood up. She was a bit unsteady at first, but she managed.

Steven smiled. But he couldn't help but look out over the place they just been. But all he saw was water.

The day after, the town was in complete chaos. Buildings were destroyed, cars laid everywhere, same for puddles of water.

"It's gonna take time to rebuild the whole time." Garnet confirmed as they watched over the town.

"We're gonna have to discuss that with the mayor. For now we-." Pearl suddenly gasped loudly and grasped her hair. "THE LAUNDRY MACHINE!"  
\--------------------  
The next thing they knew were that they were back at the beach, staring at the laundry-machine floating in the ocean.

"You said you tied them." Pearl glared up at Garnet.

"I never said that." Garnet protested, crossing her arms. "Amethyst." She looked down at the small gem.

"Okay, okay. I forgot to tie the laundry- machine and blamed it on Garnet. Happy?" Amethyst put her hands to her hips.

"Hey! You! Crystal gems!" A voice suddenly shouted bitterly.

The gems turned around to see a group of people, lead by mr. Fryman and mr. Pizza.

"Yes?" Pearl replied. "Can we help you?"

Kofi, Fryman and a few other people of the city had gathered in a group and gave the gems dead glares.

But Mr. Fryman just handed her an envelope.

"What's this?" Pearl asked as she looked at it in her hand.

"You've been served." Was the only thing Mr. Fryman said before they all turned around to leave.

Pearl looked at the envelope worriedly. And then gave the gems the same look.

She turned the envelope around and read the label:

"EVICTION ORDER"  
\--------------------  
Later in the beach house...

"They can't throw us out!" Amethyst yelled, waving with her arms. "We've been here WAY longer than those fry-heads!"

"The times have changed." Garnet tried to calm her down, leaning against the chimney. "Earth belongs to the people now. Rose made sure of that." She said.

"So we're just gonna let them throw us out?!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"We aren't citizens, Amethyst. We are just visitors." Garnet reminded her. "And we have to follow their rules."

"But where are we going to stay? All the bubbles, our artifacts?" Pearl asked desperately.

"All my stuff!" Amethyst slammed her hands onto the table.

"We can discuss that another time. When we're alone." Garnet said, and just in time, Steven opened the front door and stepped inside.

"Hey you guys..." He muttered with a small wave.

"How does it look?" Pearl asked.

"Bad." Steven answered sadly. "It will take a long time to fix it all up. And the water-tower."

"Yes." Garnet nodded. "We need to get into action shortly."

"Hey, guys..." Steven squeaked nervously. "That gem..."

"Lapis Lazuli."

"Huh?"

Pearl nodded. "Her name is Lapis Lazuli." She projected a picture of the gem in question through her gem. "All we know about her is that she was an informant during the rebellion for gems we only can describe as 'bounty hunters'. We had only heard rumors about her. She must have been stuck in the war and gotten trapped within that mirror." She explained.

"There are no tracks of her so we believe she has already left earth's atmosphere." Garnet added. "That means she's not our problem anymore."

"But-." Steven tried.

"NOT our problem. Period." Garnet hissed, this time much more stricter.

Steven stepped back in defeat and looked down.  
\---------------  
At nighttime, Steven was standing by the window in his room, wearing his pajamas.

He was looking out in the distance.

"Steven! Good night!" Pearl called.

"Good night!" Steven called back but just kept on staring outside.

He rest a hand on the window.

"Be safe, Lapis Lazuli. Wherever you are." He then walked away and shut the lights.

What he didn't notice was that a shadow flew past his window.

She stood at the end of the roof, hearing every word.

She walked back from the edge and turned around.

Lapis Lazuli summoned a pair of beautiful water-wings from the gem on her back and took off.

Reaching for the stars.


	5. Chapter 5

The clutching tong grabbed a pink donut from the shelf and put it down into the white bag.

"Here you go, Steven." The blonde leaned over and handed him the bag of donuts.

"Thanks Sadie!" Steven grinned, folding the top a bit more.

Sadie smiled as she leaned over the counter. "Doing anything special today, Steven?" She asked.

"Nah. Not really." Steven shrugged. "Me and Connie just got here to get some donuts."

"That's nice. Sounds better than being stuck here all day." Sadie chuckled.

"Hey, that doesn't sound too bad. You're surrounded by donuts!" Steven exclaimed. "That's the best thing ever!"

Sadie just laughed as Lars stepped inside, wearing a pair of head-phones which made him dance awfully.

"I gotta go! See ya Sadie!" Steven waved at her before he ran outside.

But Lars seemed rather surprised to see him and moved down his head-phones.

"He's still here?" He asked surprised.

Sadie gave him a dead glare and punched him in the stomach with her elbow.

"Ow! What?" Lars asked, rubbing his stomach.

Steven walked out of the donut-shop. "I got the donuts!" He cheered.

Connie laughed and clapped her hands, standing by a bike which looked to be way too big for any of them.

"Ready to go?" She asked, grabbing the bike-helmet.

That's when a tall boy with fancy clothes and hair passed them.

"Nice bike, dorks. You need a big diaper too?" He teased, kicking the bike and making it fall down to the ground before walking off laughing. "Whoops." He said before walking away, leaving the kid watching him angrily.

Connie and Steven shared a glance.

They smiled and nodded.

They grabbed hands and started running around in a circle, laughing until they disappeared in a bright light and were replaced by a much taller being with long, curly hair.

She put the helmet on her head and closed the lace.

The older kid from earlier continued walking, hand in his pocket and the other holding his phone.

When suddenly, a bike dashed pass him, splashing a puddle of mud over his pants.

"Gah!" He gasped in annoyance as he stopped and stared at his clothes.

"Whoops!" Stevonnie laughed as she dashed away on her red bike, hair flying in the wind as she cycled through the town.

Not much had been fixed from the storm during the past week. Buildings were still broken and the streets were covered by puddles and trash.

But still, Stevonnie laughed as she sped up the speed and practically flew above the streets.  
\----------------  
There was a bright light outside before Steven opened the door to the house.

"I'll be right back!" He called and shut the door and walked inside.

The house had had an odd feeling to it lately. Everyone seemed so sad, or tense and somehow the house felt... empty somehow.

He ran up to the kitchen and grabbed a few juice-boxes from the fridge and put them in his back-pack.

He was about to dash outside, but noticed how he had passed something as he passed the hall to the bathroom.

He stopped in his tracks. He walked back and saw Pearl in the hallway with a few boxes in front of her. She was crouched down, putting some stuff from the floor into one of the boxes.

She seemed upset, holding a piece of paper beneath her nose, sobbing.

"Pearl?" He asked. Pearl immediately jumped in surprise and turned towards him.

"Steven!" She gasped, quickly flying up to her feet and hid the paper behind her back, but seemed to calm down as she noticed it was him.

Steven looked at her in distrust. "What are you doing?"

"Oh!" Pearl's glance went to the boxes behind her. "I'm just doing some cleaning! Right. Can't let all this garbage lay around, can we?" She fell down on her knees again and started to pack down some things into the boxes again.

But without her noticing, an envelope escaped the back of her tights.

Steven noticed and blinked.

He made sure Pearl was busy.

He grabbed it.

"Was there anything you wanted, Steven?" Pearl asked as she turned around.

Steven quickly hid the envelope behind his back. "Nope! Nope! Nothing at all! Nothing to see! What?! I didn't steal anything! Okay I'm gonna go now, bye." He then rushed away.

Pearl just watched him in confusion. But then she shrugged and turned back to the boxes.

Steven walked out of the house, shutting the door behind him.

He then slipped out the envelope from behind his back and turned it around.

He read the text.

"Eviction order?" He hummed as he read the label.  
\-------------------  
"Eviction order?" Connie asked as she held the envelope in one hand.

They were sitting outside on the beach with the bag of donuts and juice-boxes beside them.

"I don't understand why they would hide this from me." Steven asked confused, resting his chin against his hands.

"Maybe it's a misunderstanding?" Connie asked. "I mean, have you read it yet?"

"Yeah! Well... no. Not really..." Steven muttered.

"See? That's what I'm talking about!" Connie told him. "You can't jump to conclusions without proof!"

"What more proof do you need?! It says 'eviction order'! And look!" He pointed a a small text. "It's addressed to us!"

"You got a point..." Connie muttered.

"I just can't believe we're moving!" Steven blurted, grabbing the sides of his head. "I'll have to leave everything behind! Sadie, Lars, Funland... you." He blushed for a second. He picked up his donut from the bag and then burst out:. "The big donut! What am I gonna do without my donuts?!"

"Uhh, I'm sure they have donuts elsewhere." Connie tried to encourage him.

"But not like these!" Steven exclaimed, then taking an angry bite of his donut.

Connie sighed and picked up her own donut up out of the bag.

She looked at it for a long time. "It's not that bad. I've moved tons of times." She began. "It gets easier."

"Yeah?" Steven muttered.

"But..." Connie began. "I'm still gonna be here if you want me to." She lifted her donut up. "Jam-buds?"

Steven looked up at her. He smiled. "Jam-buds" He nudged his donut with hers. They took a bite of their donuts and laughed.  
\---------------------  
At dinner, Steven, Connie sat around the table, eating a plate of mashed potatoes and meatballs.

The gems were there too, though they didn't eat. Except Amethyst who practically shoved the plate into her mouth.

Though, the atmosphere wasn't that pleasant.

Garnet was quiet as ever, sitting cross-armed on her chair and looking at... something. It was kind of hard to tell.

Pearl looked anxious, tapping her fingers against one another.

"This is really good, ma'm." Connie complemented.

"Why, thank you Connie." Pearl smiled.

The gems then began talking about something in a hushed tone.

Steven and Connie just sat by, watching them.

Until suddenly-

Connie jumped off her chair and ran outside, shutting the door behind.

"Connie!" Steven called, running after her, leaving the gems clueless.

"Did I say something wrong?" Pearl asked worriedly.

The gems were quiet for a moment.

"Probably." Garnet shrugged at last.

Steven ran outside and found Connie by the chore, holding a piece of paper by her nose.

"Connie!" He called as he ran down to her. "Connie, look, I'm-."

"I'm sorry Steven! I tried to be strong and support you, but I just can't take it!" Connie turned around and cried. A few tears ran down her cheeks and she sobbed. "I just can't believe that when I finally find a place to stay, I'm gonna be left behind by my only friend. My best friend." She dried a tear away.

"Hey, hey. Connie. I'm not leaving anyone behind." Steven told her, trying to calm her down.

"Yeah, right. Just a part of your life." Connie sobbed angrily. "Aren't I apart of your life?"

"Of course you are!" Steven assured her. "Aren't we jam-buds?"

Connie just sobbed.

"Here. Come on." Steven extended his arms and they hugged.

"You'll keep in touch. Right?" Connie sobbed.

"Everyday." Steven replied.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

After a few moments of crying and sobbing, they looked at each-other, smiling.

"Jam- buds?" Steven asked, lifting his knuckles.

Connie smiled and nudged her fist with his. "Jam-buds."

They joined hands and disappeared in a bright light.

Stevonnie sighed loudly, holding her arms around her torso.

"I'll always be there for you." She said lowly. "But only if you want me to be."  
\-----------------------  
At night Greg had driven Connie home and she waved her hand at them as they drove away.

The drive home was quiet and uneventful.

Steven stared out the window the majority of the ride.

Greg noticed the tension. "So, Steven... something on your mind?" He asked.

"No." Steven shook his head.

"You sure? You look a bit down." Greg told him.

"I'm fine." Steven mumbled.

"Steven." Greg told him. "Come on. You can tell me."

Steven sighed and turned around. "Dad..." He began. "Are we moving?"

Greg almost immediately pushed the breaks, and the wheels squealed loudly. He turned off the engine.

He sat back against the back-rest. "Oh, geeze..." He uncomfortably rubbed the back of his head. "Haven't the gems told you about that yet?"

Steven shook his head slowly.

Greg cleared his throat, trying to find the right words. "Look, Steven. The gems have lived here longer than any human and... some people don't understand that." He told his son. "And... they know that you guys just wants to protect them. But... people do bad things when they're scared." He explained.

"But if we just talk to them, maybe-." Steven tried.

"I've already tried, Stu-ball." Greg shook his head. "Honestly... I've tried ever since you were little." He sighed. "Son, humans are naturally afraid of what they don't understand. I mean, I get it, I was scared too when I first met the gems. Heck, Garnet tried to throw me back over the fence!"

Steven couldn't help but laugh.

"But once I got to know them... I wasn't afraid anymore. And soon, me and your mom had you." He smiled down at his son.

Steven smiled back, drying away an escaping tear from the corner of his eye.

Greg understood why. He wrapped his arm around him. "Hey, Stu-Ball. It's gonna be okay." He told him calmly. "We'll go on a long road-trip, live on some motels, maybe some hotels. And hey, maybe we'll even find a new place, twice as good as the temple? Huh? How does that sound?" He pat his son's back.

Steven sobbed but then smiled. "Yeah... I guess that sounds pretty great..."

He leaned against his dad's side.

Greg smiled and held him close.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah..."

Greg started the engine and continued driving.


	6. The Ghost

Steven and Connie burst through the front door, wet and escaping the pouring rain outside. They shut the door.

"Whoa, that rain really came out of nowhere." Connie shuddered, taking off her yellow jacket.

"Yeah." Steven laughed as he put his own jacket on the hanger and switched the lamps on.

"Guys! I'm home!" He shouted. The house had gotten quite empty but still crowded by boxes here and there.

No reply.

They walked into the kitchen and Steven picked off a piece of paper from the fridge.

"Dear Steven. We are out on a mission. There are snacks in the cabinet but don't eat too much. Don't stay up and wait for us because we'll be late. Love Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst."

"Well, guess it's just you and me tonight." He shrugged and opened the fridge. "You hungry?" He asked.

"Starving. What do you have?" Connie walked over to his side.

The fridge was quite empty. Just some butter, a cucumber and a juice-box.

"Oh. Sorry. We've kind of been cutting down on groceries because of the move." Steven chuckled nervously. But his nervousness soon turned into a sad face.

Connie noticed and smiled. "Oh, that's okay. I guess we'll just eat a cucumber, get some butter on it and drink-." She shook the juice-box. "Backwash juice. Hmm." She hummed skeptically.

"I'm sorry for not having food for our Under the knife marathon." Steven apologized.

"Oh, nothing to worry about." Connie shrugged.

Steven walked over to one of the cabinets and opened it. "We have some candy."

"Well, it's not particularly healthy. But my mom says it's better to eat than not to eat... so..." she smiled sheepishly.

Soon, they had prepared a whole table with food. They had slices the cucumber, put the candy in bowls and popped some popcorn with some melted butter on.

They had fun eating their dinner in front on the TV, watching Crying Breakfast Friends on the loft.

And soon, it was late night-time.

Connie and Steven threw themselves on the bed, wearing their pajamas and night-gowns.

"I can't wait for the new episodes tomorrow!" Steven grinned giddily as he covered himself with his quilt.

"I know! But we have to stay focused." Connie said seriously. "We're finally gonna find out who the mysterious man is who is hiding in the shadows, lurking behind Shelly ever since day 1. It was all in the promo!" She exclaimed and laid down and wrapped herself up in the quilt next to Steven.

"Now, let's be quiet and fall asleep. I calculated that if we fall asleep within the next six minutes, we will have slept the healthy amount of time, plus we'll have a nutritious breakfast and then have approximately 3,7 minutes for bathroom-breaks before the show starts!"

"Then let's get to it!" Steven exclaimed before shutting his eyes. Connie joined him.

About two minutes later...

"I can't sleep." Connie muttered and opened her eyes. "Can y-." She turned her head, to see Steven snoring loudly beside her. Connie laughed. "Lucky." She turned around to sleep on her side and closed her eyes. "Good night, Steven."  
\---------------  
The time soon went from 23.30 to 00.30 and the duo had peacefully fallen asleep.

Until a few footsteps broke the silence.

Connie opened her eyes, dizzily looking up. "Huh?" She rubbed her eyes as she sat up, looking around in the room.

Nothing had changed. The snacks were still on the floor, the TV was shut down, Steven's toys stood where they should be.

"Steven?" Connie whispered as she removed the quilt. She noticed how Steven still snored beside her.

She stood up and walked over to the end of his room so that she could look down into the living room and the kitchen.

Nobody was there. No footsteps, no signs of anyone being there at all. She looked over at the Temple-door. It was shut and blended in nicely with the darkness of the house.

"No! Dog-copter! Help! The Lion Cats...are... attacking..." Steven muttered loudly in his sleep.

Connie frowned.

The next thing she knew, she was washing her hands in the bathroom sink. Quite peacefully.

Until, she heard the floor creak from outside the door. She shut the wash faucet and looked towards the door.

"Steven?"

No answer.

Connie was getting really uncomfortable.

"Steven?" She walked over to the door. It was opened a glitch. She unwillingly pressed the door and it opened. She looked outside.

Nothing.

She opened the door completely.

She looked around the room slowly.

Nothing was different.

Except for Steven standing by the kitchen-table with his back turned towards her.

She exhaled in relief. "Steven. You scared me." She laughed. She walked out of the bathroom. "What are you doing up so late?" She asked.

Steven didn't answer.

Connie was starting to get a bad gut-feeling. She walked towards him and reached her hand for his shoulder. "Steven-." She chuckled.

Steven turned around.

But... it wasn't Steven...

Well, yes it was, but... he looked younger, and missing a tooth.

Connie pulled her hand back. "S-Steven?!" She reached her hand for him, and once her fingertips touched his chest-

He disappeared.

Connie stood back, terrified, breathing heavily.

She looked around. "It's... it was just a hallucination." She told herself. "Mom was right. I shouldn't eat candy for dinner. I knew it was bad, but not that-."

The floor creaked around her and she turned her head.

She could only see a glimpse of someone who looked like Steven walking by, and a voice she couldn't work out the words of. They were gone the moment she turned around.

She was getting really scared now and her breath was getting heavy.

"Steven! Steven!" She shook his body and whispered his name. "Steven! Wake up!"

Steven grunted and opened his eyes tiredly. "Wh-huh?"

"Steven wake up! Someone's here!" Connie hissed terrified.

"Whuh?" Steven sat up. "Are the gems back?" He yawned loudly.

"I don't think so. You have to come! Please!" Connie begged.

"Hey, hey. Connie. It's okay. I'm coming." Steven told her.

Connie smiled relieved.  
\--------------------  
They had gathered their equipment. They had pillows as helmets, pillows as armors, and water-guns as- guns?

They walked downstairs and looked around, aiming their weapons at everything.

"You sure that thing was me?" Steven asked in a whisper.

"Yes. By the table." Connie whispered back.

"It's weird. It was me. But I'm me. And I was by the table. But I'm here. And there can't be two me, because I am the only me I know about." Steven said lowly."

"Shh. Steven, focus!" Connie whispered.

They could hear voices and they turned towards the direction.

Someone stepped by the couch.

"There!" Connie shouted and they sprayed water towards the couch.

But nothing was there, and now the couch was wet.

They turned around swiftly as they heard another whisper.

"Steven, I don't like this." Connie whispered in terror. "What if we're dealing with some kind of gem monster?" She asked.

"I don't think so. Monsters are usually easy to hear." Steven explained, looking about. "What if we're dealing with some kind of supernatural force?" He stuttered.

"Don't be silly, Steven. Ghosts doesn't exist." Connie told him, frowning as she looked around.

They both ducked as they heard something crash and they both stepped even closer towards each-other's backs.

"I know that!" Steven squeaked, sweating from his slight panic. "But I was thinking more of demons and stuff like that..."

"Steven!" Then there was another crash.

The cups on the sink had floated up all by themselves and crashed into the wall.

The kids screamed and got ready to run away, but Connie took a deep breath and grabbed Steven's hand. "Let's initiate protection stance!"

Soon they stood back-to back, ready to fire their water-guns.

"Let's stay together! I have read many sites on the internet. They're mostly called 'Stupid things they always do in horror movies.'" Connie said sternly. "All we have to do is stay together, don't escape upstairs, don't wear high-heels, don't investigate, call somebody, don't run into the forest. The most accurate one to our situation would probably be 'If you notice your house is haunted, don't stay in it!"

"Then let's go!" Steven grabbed her hand and headed for the door. He then started to pull the handle, but it was stuck. "I can't open it!"

"Let me try." Steven stepped away as Connie started pulling in his place, much more violent than Steven. "We're trapped!"

One of the chairs flew up into the air and smashed against the wall above them.

They screamed and ducked.

The whole house had now become a blizzard with things everywhere floating and crashing against the floor and walls

"The bathroom!" Steven shouted and they dashed for the bathroom and shut the door behind them.

Steven picked his phone up and started pressing the buttons.

"We need to call the gems!" Connie shouted in panic.

"None of them has a phone!" Steven shouted back.

"None of them has a phone?!" Connie blurted.

"They barely know how to plug in a light-bulb! How do you think they can manage a phone?!" Steven blurted and looked through his phone.

"What are you doing?" Connie asked.

"Calling an expert." Steven pressed down at a text saying 'Ronaldo'.

It rang four times. And it stopped.

"Who dares disturb me during the late full-moon-." A mysterious voice said in a ghost-voice.

"Ronaldo! It's me! Steven!"

"Oh! Hey Steven!" Ronaldo shouted. "Did you watch the copy of that movie I gave to you? Did you also get scared when that huge, giant chicken flipped the kids around in the car-."

"Ronaldo! There's no time!" Steven shouted. "We're locked inside my house, and we think we are being haunted."

"You are?! That's SO COOL!" Ronaldo exclaimed.

"No. Not really." Steven muttered. "But listen. We need your help. How do you get rid of a ghost?"

"A ghost? Oh, let me think a second..." Ronaldo said.

A few second went.

"Now I remember! My ex and I used to go on haunt-hunts in the old cemetery." Ronaldo explained.

"No way you had a girlfriend." A voice behind Ronaldo's line said.

"I did too!" Ronaldo shouted back. "Steven! If a ghost is bothering you, just throw some salt at it!"

"Salt?"

"Yes! Ghosts can't survive salt! Either that, or pepper..."

"Ronaldo!"

"Okay! Okay! Salt! It's salt!" Ronaldo shouted. "This is what you'll do. Make a ring around you and the ghost. The ghost can't cross the ring. And when it is close you must say: "Ghost go away!"

"But what if there is no 'ghost' to throw it on?" Connie asked.

"Ahh, that might mean you're dealing with a poltergeist." Ronaldo explained.

"A poltergeist?" Connie asked.

"Yes! They haunt people, unlike ghosts who haunts houses." Ronaldo explained further. "They often haunt the minds of the emotionally disturbed."

Steven tensed a bit.

"Okay, so this'll what you'll do-." When suddenly, Ronaldo's voice started glitching.

"Ronaldo? Ronaldo!" Steven shouted, pressing his phone's buttons. "It's dead." He showed Connie the black screen.

Connie looked back toward the living-room.

"We need to stop it."  
\------------------  
They discretely sneaked out of the bathroom.

Connie and Steven stood on the table, holding two cooking-pans.

"Hey ghost! Listen to this!" Connie shouted and started smashing the pans against another. "Go away Ghost! Go away Ghost! Go away ghost!" Steven joined her and they both shouted. "Go away ghost! Go away ghost! Go away ghoo-!" Something suddenly grabbed Connie by the night-gown and threw her against the couch.

The couch then tilted over and trapped Connie beneath it.

"Connie!" Steven screamed.

"I'm okay!" Connie shouted and struggled to get out beneath the couch.

"Oh! This is all my fault!" Steven cried.

"Steven! Don't be ridiculous-!" Connie struggled to get free.

"No it's true! It's me it wants!" Steven cried. "I'm the emotionally disturbed! It's me it's feeding off!"

Connie looked at him in chock.

Steven's cheeks stared getting filled with tears. "I don't want to move away! I love Beach City and I don't want to leave!" He cried.

Connie could only watch. "Steven..."

But that's when she noticed something.

Above him.

In the lamp hanging from the ceiling.

Something was glowing.

She frowned, kicked the couch away and jumped up at the table and smashed the lamp with both hands.

The lamp swayed and something flew out of it.

A gem. A white gem.

It landed on the floor.

And just like that, everything around calmed down.

Everything that soared fell to the ground and everything became just... numb.

Steven and Connie rushed to the gem.

"A gem?" Connie asked. "It's been stuck in the lamp? When did that happen?"

Steven picked it up and held it. "Hey little buddy, it's okay. You're safe." He hushed it.

When suddenly, the gem lightened up and began glowing brightly. They both raised their arms to cover their eyes but the light slowly moved and instead started glowing towards the wall.

And suddenly, just like a projector it started to play something.

The light shone towards the wall of the entrance door, and suddenly, a small boy with curly hair opened the door and stepped inside, nervously holding a pillow and carrying a hamburger backpack on his back.

Connie stepped forward, watching in confusion. "Steven. Is that you?"

"I don't know..." Steven frowned. He looked down at the gem and moved turned it into a completely different direction, which only ended up with the boy disappearing. He then moved the light back, and the boy reappeared by the door.

And then to his surprise, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl suddenly walked over to the boy.

He gasped. "Guys! You're here! What is going..." He then silenced as the gems started interacting with the boy. And then he noticed something. He hadn't seen the gems wearing those outfits for a really long time. "...on?"

He watched as the trio of gems spoke to the small boy for a few moments before Garnet picked him up and placed him on her shoulders before they all walked off.

"I remember this..." He then slowly muttered. "This was the time when I finally moved in with the crystal gems after they build this house."

The 'movie' then disappeared for a moment, only to reappear by the kitchen.

This time, a bit older Steven was standing on the table, struggling to pour the popcorn over his together-breakfast on the table.

Pearl looked so scared for all the mess he was making, Amethyst was cheering him on from one of the chairs and Garnet was simply smiling in amusement from behind him.

Steven chuckled.

The next time the light moved, it moved towards the couch-are, where they all were sitting around the table, trying to make sense of a game six-year old Steven had found for them.

Suddenly, Steven raised his arms and stood up in victory. Amethyst gasped and immediately started hitting the game with a baseball-bat in defeat. Pearl immediately stood up and started to yell for her to stop and Garnet simply rest back in the chair

Steven could only watch the pictures play a movie before him.

Once again, the light disappeared and shone up again, back to the kitchen, where little Steven wore his birthday cape and crown, trying to blow out the candles. It was hard for him, but at last he blew the candles out and all the gems and his dad all cheered and applauded.

Steven couldn't help but give a soft smile and a soft laugh before the light shone towards his bed, were he was tiredly tucked in bed by Pearl and the others. And then they just grinned as he within a second fell asleep.

The picture then seemed to take a huge time-skip, because the next 'movie' it showed had him as a toddler, still learning how to walk.

He was sitting happily on the floor, clapping his hands, completely unaware of the chaos behind him.

The gems were fighting some odd creature, one who actually had the appearance of a ghost. It was tall, almost transparent and soared in the air.

The corrupted gem had managed to hit the gems out cold.

Steven had suddenly began to cry loudly, and the gem had been caught off guard.

She soared down to his level, just staring at him.

As it turned out, Steven had dropped his pacifier, which laid a few feet away.

The gem just watched him in fascination. Her long-fingered hands reached down to grab the pacifier and held it before him.

Little Steven stopped crying as he saw it. He clumsily took it and put it in his mouth.

He then tried to reach for the gem, as if he wanted to be picked up by her.

The creature seemed confused first. But the corrupted gem reached her hands out.

"Steven!" It all happened so fast.

Amethyst had pulled her whip around the gem, Garnet had ran up and picked Steven up and Pearl had stabbed the gem in the back. The cloud it disappeared in was thick, and nobody noticed when the gem flew away and landed in the lamp above the table.

"Where did it go?!" Amethyst asked.

"Start looking!" Garnet ordered, still holding Steven, as everyone split up. But Garnet stood where she was.

Little Steven started struggling in her grip and she smiled as she adjusted her hold around him.

"Oh, Steven." She sighed, as she offered a finger for him to hold, which he did. "One day, this will be your home." She looked around the half-done house.

And just like that, the light disappeared.

Steven had a tear almost escaping his eye.

"Steven...are you okay?" Connie asked him worriedly.

The gem then started glowing completely in his hands.

"Whoa! Shh. Shh. It's okay. I got you." Steven hushed it in a whisper. "You only wanted to help me that day. But the gems didn't see that." He whispered calmly. "Don't be mad. People do weird things to protect the ones they care about."

"You must have felt lonely when you heard the gems talking about leaving the house." He said calmly. "We're the only ones you've had to keep you company. But don't worry. I will put you in a new home too."

When suddenly, the door was slammed open and the gems stormed in, weapons high up.

"Steven! Garnet saw what happened !" Pearl exclaimed. "Where is the-."

She stopped when Steven send the gem off to the temple.

"What happened here?" Pearl asked as all of them lowered their weapons.

Steven stepped forward, quite shyly actually.

"Guys..." He looked up at them, his eyes filled with tears. "I'm ready."


	7. The Arrival

Steven laid loudly asleep in his bed. When he suddenly woke up by hushed voices coming from downstairs.

He sat up, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes. He looked at the time on his phone. 01.36.

He threw away his quilt and tip-toed over to the end of his room so he could look downstairs.

The voices turned out to be coming from Greg, Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst.

Garnet was leaned against the kitchen-table, Amethyst sat in the couch and Pearl stood up like Greg.

"Look, I got family back in Ginger Crust, which is a five hour long trip from here. They won't talk to me, but if we explain the situation I'm sure there's room in one of their homes." Greg explained in a hushed tone. "Or you guys could rent a trailer and we'll just settle down on a camping for a while."

"There's not enough room." Garnet crossed her arms.

"We have nowhere to leave the bubbles! And we can't just leave them in the temple!" Pearl whispered in panic.

"Unless..." Garnet began, putting a hand to her chin.

Everyone looked at her, waiting for her to end her sentence.

"Unless what?" Amethyst asked.

"Unless we make sure nobody can get to them." Garnet finished her point.

"What are you saying?" Pearl asked.

"We have to destroy it." Garnet said.

Everyone gasped. Steven's eyes widened.

Garnet nodded. "Tomorrow at sunrise, I'll destroy both the temple door and the warp." She said.

Pearl wanted to protest.

But Garnet interrupted her. "We can't risk anyone getting hurt in there. It was never our intend."

Pearl looked down, letting a few tears run down her cheeks.

A tear ran down Steven's cheek as well.  
\------------------  
It was early morning and the sky was bright with a few hints of clouds.

Steven sat in his room on the floor.

Pearl carried the last box down the stairs, leaving him alone.

He was busy packing the last few things into his cheeseburger backpack.

It was his MC-bearbear, and then there was a few photos.

A photo.

He stayed watching one of the pictures for a long while.

It was a picture of his seventh birthday, told by the huge 7 candle on his cake. The gems stood behind him with his dad, clapping and cheering as he blew out his candles.

Steven smiled softly and then packed it into his backpack.

He then stood up to look at his room.

It was so empty. The only thing that was left was his bed, only with the bedding being removed. Apart from that, there was nothing left.

There was a sob coming from downstairs. He tiptoed down the stairs, quietly so that nobody would hear him.

Pearl was packing the last few pieces of the cutlery, Amethyst had her elbows resting on the table and her hands digging into her frizzy hair, looking like she hadn't slept in weeks. And Garnet was resting her chin against her palm while her other hand was holding a still foaming cup of coffee.

"Steven-." Garnet stuttered in surprise when she saw him, drying away the tears with the lower part of her palm. The rest turned around to watch him as well in surprise.

"I'm ready." He told them, a bit shyly.

The gems gave him a soft smile. Not a happy one. But a smile.  
\-----------------------  
In the next scene, the gems were carrying stuff out of the house, and Greg stood ready to push them into the van.

Meanwhile, Steven was watching them from the window.

He sighed and turned around.

The room was so empty. The couch and all the tables were still there, and the lamps as well. Still, it was still empty.

He looked up at his room.

Empty, not a single thing left. Not even dust.

And then there was the temple-door. He just stared at it for a long while, looking at the gems placed on the door. More or less staring at the Rose- Quartz gem at the bottom.

Some tears began forming in his eyes.

When suddenly, he heard footsteps and a hand rest against his shoulder.

"Everything's set Stu-ball." Greg told him. "You ready?" He asked. But he noticed his son's sadness. "Hey, Steven. If you want some time, I get it. We could wait outside and-."

"No! No. I- I'm ready!" Steven exclaimed, drying some tears away.

But Greg crouched down and hugged him anyway. "I know, son. We're all there." He told him and Steven hugged him back.  
\------------------  
The next thing he did was closing the door behind him, looking at the house before him. And the temple holding it.

Greg was the driver, and Pearl and Amethyst sat beside Steven in the backseat, Amethyst being the middle.

They sat there, waiting.

It was quiet.

When suddenly-

There was a loud sound, sounding like something solid crushing through stone.

Pearl covered her mouth, shutting her eyes.

Amethyst looked down.

Steven looked out the window as Garnet walked out of the house and sat down in the front-seat.

She turned her head and nodded towards the gems.

The gems nodded back.

And so, they started driving.

And as they drove, they passed by the town they had grown to love.

Lars and Sadie was working outside the Big Donut. As they passed them, Sadie looked sad and Lars seemed as bored as ever. But still, Sadie waved.

It felt like everyone was watching them as they passed by.

The only ones who didn't ignore them were the cool kids, Vidalia and some others they knew, who looked either guilty, sad, or quite happy they were leaving.

Another one was Connie, who stood by and waved at the as they passed by.

The atmosphere in the van was heavy.

Garnet was more quiet than ever, Pearl looked rather sad and Amethyst felt rather angry.

And soon, they passed the sign saying 'Leaving Beach City. Sea you again!'

"How about some tunes?" Greg asked, putting in a CD. "This was one of Rose's favorites!"

And so it played one of the worst sounds they've ever heard. It wasn't really a song, rather a buzzing sound.

"Oh, dang it! It's doing it again!" Greg whined, trying to find the right channels. "It's been doing this since this morning. Old, cheap radio!" He grunted.

Steven just looked at him before looking out the window.  
\--------------  
Maybe twenty minutes into their driving, Pearl was starting to feel uncomfortable and sat up straighter.

"Hey! We don't have to have all those frowny faces! Why don't we play a 'car game?'" She suggested. "I spy with my little eye something... blue!"

"The flowers?" Steven asked.

"No."

"The color of this stupid game?" Amethyst muttered, bored.

"No."

"The sky?" Steven asked.

"Right! Well done, Steven!" Pearl clapped her hands. "Now it's your turn!"

"I spy with my little eye something..." Steven squinted his eyes. "White!"

"The markings on the road?" Pearl suggested.

"No."

"Pearl's enormous nose?" Amethyst teased.

"Amethyst!" Pearl scolded at her, and Amethyst laughed.

"Hey!" They both tensed by Garnet's sharp voice. "Let Steven do his thing." She told them.

They both sat back.

"Tell us what is was, Ste-man!" Amethyst told him.

"The clouds!" Steven grinned and everyone sighed. "Your turn Amethyst!"

"Nah, I'm bored. Do Pearl again." Amethyst said, closing her eyes.

"Me? Well alright then. " Pearl nodded and looked outside. "I spy with my little hand something... green!"

When suddenly, Steven's eyes widened. "A GIANT SPACE HAND?!"

"No. Steven, if you're not gonna take this seriously we better off- WHAAT?!" Pearl suddenly shrieked.

Greg lost control of the wheel for a second and they all made a complete turn around until he pressed the break and they stood still.

Immediately, everyone burst out of the car and looked up.

And just like he said, there was a big, green ship in the shape of a hand far, far up in the sky, slowly moving.

"What the heck is that?!" Greg shouted.

"It's Homeworld." Garnet confirmed.

"And it's heading for the city!" Pearl gasped.

"What?!" Steven exclaimed. "You guys! We need to help them!" He shouted.

"No way, dude! They were the ones who kicked us out!" Amethyst argued, crossing her arms.

"But-."

"Steven's right. We need to help the people." Garnet ordered. "It was our sworn duty to protect them from gems like us."

Amethyst looked away, feeling defeated.

"Garnet, what are we gonna do?!" Pearl asked in panic.

Garnet adjusted her visor. "Steven stays here."

"What?! But I wanna help too!" Steven exclaimed walking closer to her.

But Garnet just crouched down before him. And he could see his face in her visor.

"It's too dangerous."

Steven stepped back in fear.

Garnet stood up and turned to Greg. "Greg, you and Steven keep going. We'll find you when we get back."

"Roger that!" Greg saluted them and they ran off to the city.  
\-----------------------  
Steven and Greg sat in the car, on their way not the road.

"I really hope they're okay." Steven muttered.

Greg tried to give him a supporting smile. "Hey, kiddo. It's the gems! They always find a way." He told him.

"But what if they don't? What if homeworld has something they can't protect themselves from? I can! I have mom's shield!" Steven pulled up his shirt to reveal his gem.

"How do you know?! How do you think your shield will hold?! Maybe it's not strong enough for a second hit!" Greg tried to argue back.

"Second hit?" Steven asked.

Greg tensed.

"Dad, when was the first hit?" Steven asked.

Greg had a hard time right now.

"Dad!"

Greg grimaced. "Okay! Okay." He calmed down. "The gems should really be telling you this, but... homeworld, as you know, did something terrible to the planet. And your mother, she couldn't stand it anymore. She had to turn on her own kind just to stop what they started and keep homeworld gems from invading earth. And the gems are just trying to make up for it, to pay for the damage that Homeworld did." He referred to the corrupted gems that the gems had fought during the years.

"They invaded earth?" Steven asked in chock. "B-but they won! That's good!"

"There's no such thing as a good war, kiddo." Greg mumbled. "Gems were destroyed. People too. And at the last hit towards earth, homeworld made an ugly move and... if it wasn't for your mom's shield... Pearl and Garnet wouldn't have been here today."

He looked down at his son. Steven looked destroyed, even guilty.

"Dad, we need to go back." He told him.

"No way! It's either no way or Norway!" Greg demanded.

"But they need me!" Steven shouted.

"I need you too!" Greg shouted.

"Dad, stop the VAN!" Steven slammed the dashboard.

Which eventually lead to the airbag activating, which activated Steven's bubble which send him out of the window of the car and out to the ground.

"Steven!" Greg gasped, stopping the van and ran over to his son as the bubble disappeared. "Steven! Are you okay?!" He asked, lifting him up.

"Yeah." Steven nodded as he sat up. "But I'm scared they won't be."

He looked at his father pleadingly. "Dad, please. I need to help them."

Greg could only look at him helplessly. Until... he sighed. "Okay. Just be careful, okay?" He dried a tear away from Steven's cheeks. "You're the only family I care about."

They leaned in for a hug.

And then, they jumped inside the van and Greg hit the gas.

The green had-shaped ship was getting closer by the minute.

As they entered the town, they could see the people panic of the presence of the ship.

Even Connie stood outside and stared up to the sky.

Greg stopped the van immediately as they passed her.

"Connie!" Steven shouted as he stuck his head out the window.

"Steven! What's happening?!" Connie asked, before looking up again.

"I don't have time to explain! But go to Mayor Dewey, tell him he needs to get the people out of Beach-City!" Steven told her.

Connie nodded. "Right." Greg continued on and Connie ran to warn the mayor.

Greg hit the gas and they dashed towards the beach.  
\---------------------------  
Meanwhile, back at the beach.

The ship was approaching further and further, causing turbulent on the ground.

A tall gem, taller than Garnet with four arms and long, white hand summoned a bow and loaded it, aiming it towards the ship.

"FIRE!" Garnet roared and she shot the arrow.

The arrow was send off, but once it reached the ship, they were disabled.

Opal stared in distrust.

They both ended up watching the ship slowly getting closer.

"At least Steven's safe." Garnet said.

When suddenly, they heard a car drive up on the beach, getting their attention.

Greg stopped the car not far away and Steven rushed out the door.

"Guys!" He shouted.

"Steven!" Garnet and Opal gasped.

Opal grunted loudly and suddenly disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Pearl and Amethyst on the ground.

"Dude!" Amethyst called.

"What are you doing here? Get out of here!" Pearl shouted.

"B-but-" Steven stuttered.

"It's too late!" Garnet roared.

The hand- shaped ship landed and the fingers hit the sand, making everyone jump, almost fall.

A bubble appeared at the top.

The crystal gems summoned and raised their weapons.

The bubble traveled down along the ship, and stopped at the lowest finger.

The bubble disappeared and revealed two gems.

One was at least 8 feet tall and had long, blonde hair hanging down her back. She was practically orange with stripes along her body. Her gem was on her nose and her clothes was a red and black body-suit.

They both jumped down from the ship and landed on the sand. The big one landed with a big thud and made a large hole from her footprints.

The smaller, pink one stretched her leg impossibly far until her foot touched the ground before the person itself stood on the sand. She was barely half the size of the first one, with long, pink hair in a pigtail, pink clothes, gloves, black stripes running down her cheeks like tears and an upside-down turned gem on her chest.

The sand was damp, and she lifted her foot up, all drowned in wet sand. The big one grunted in annoyance. "Just my luck. Another stupid hunk of rock." She hissed, kicking the sand. "2000 years in the force and this is where I end up? Looking for ridiculous creatures for a low compensation..."

"You need to leave immediately!" Garnet demanded.

The two gems turned their heads, one of them frowning and one of them confused.

"Um, who are those dullards?" The pink one asked, cocking her head to the side.

Jasper frowned. "Spinel, get the informant." She ordered.

"Yes Jasper!" The pink one grinned and saluted her before jumping up on the ship like a spring.

During the three minutes they waited, Pearl and Amethyst shared a glance. Slowly, without anyone noticing, they walked closer until they stood beside Garnet, creating a better cover for Steven. Steven, though, leaned down so that he could watch the scene between gaps between the trio's legs.

At last, the pink gem jumped down again, one long leg after the other she stood on the sand with her arm wrapped around a familiar blue gem.

"Welcome to the party, Lazuli!" Spinel laughed as Lapis glared at her. Lapis struggled in the strong gem's grip, but when she saw Steven, she gasped.

"Lapis..." Steven gasped in a whisper.

"Are those who you were talking about?" Jasper asked her, pointing towards the group of gems. "Are those what's left of Rose Quartz's army?"

"Yes..." Lapis answered quietly, looking away.

Jasper sighed. "And 'this' is the big jackpot you were talking about?" She asked. "An overcooked runt, a confused pearl and a..."

She then noticed Steven behind the Crystal gems. She frowned. "What is that?" She asked, pointing her finger towards him.

With a swift motion, Spinel reached her free hand like a rope and tangled it and took a hold of Steven's leg.

None of them had time to react before Steven fell to the ground and was pulled along the ground.

Amethyst tried to grab him but failed.

It all happened so fast, and the gems had barely no time to do anything before Spinel both held a struggling Steven and Lapis in both arms.

"Leave him alone!" Garnet shouted, holding Pearl and Amethyst back as they tried to attack. Amethyst even sounded like a barking dog.

"Oh! What a cutie!" Spinel cooed, stretching her neck impossible lengths to see him better. "Too bad Morganite didn't request any humans. You would fit in just fine." She giggled.

"You know, Lazuli." Jasper began as she looked at the blue gem.

Lapis glared up at her. "I thought I was a brute. But you're sick." Jasper scoffed. "Turning your back at the ones who saved you after over 5.000 years. I guess, you fit with them really well. Another traitor for the traitors."

"Please! Just let Steven go!" Lapis begged. "He has nothing to do with this!"

Jasper ignored her. Until she made a gesture with her hands.

Spinel let Steven go and Steven quickly ran and hid behind Garnet, grabbing her thigh.

Garnet raised her gauntlets.

Jasper could see her reflection through her visor. "Capture the fusion." She told Spinel angrily.

The pink gem looked at her, puzzled.

"Morganite will for sure give a big compensation for another addition to her collection." Jasper told her as she started walking back to the ship.

"And the others?" Spinel asked her.

Jasper stopped and glared down at the rest of the gems and Steven, laid on his stomach before them. "An overcooked runt is only a waste of space. And the Pearl wouldn't fit the request. Just blast them with the ship." She told her as she walked away.

"Oh how fun!" Spinel grinned as she summoned a screen from her gem and pressed it.

The ship flew up and moved it's fingers so it looked like a finger-gun, aimed towards the beach.

And the tip of the finger started glowing.

But that's when Jasper noticed her mistake and stomped back. "Spinel! You idiot! The fusion!" She yelled.

"Whoops." Spinel put a finger on her chin and grimaced.

"Steven! You have to leave!" Garnet roared and turned around, her hair and clothes waving in the wind from the ship.

"No!" Steven shouted back.

"I won't let you risk your life!" Garnet shouted.

"But this is my home! And you're all my family!" Steven shouted, tears running down his cheeks.

The gems stared at him for a long moment.

And the canon from the ship was getting ready to blow.

"I'm-." Steven began. "I'M A CRYSTAL GEM TOO!" He ran in front of them and summoned his shield.

And the ship fired with an explosion.

The gems flew to the sides, landing on their sides and back.

His shield disappeared before anyone had any chance of seeing it after the blast hit.

Steven flew back and hit his head hard on a rock. And then he landed on his stomach.

Everything turned black.

All Steven could see was darkness. And the only thing he could hear was a long, loud beeping sound.

He started to open his eyes, but quickly shut them again. Then he tried again, and this time he could only see chaos.

He could hear the panic of the people and Mayor Dewey yelling in his megaphone for everyone to retreat. Pearl shot lasers with her spear and Amethyst swung with her whips at the homeworld gems.

He shut his eyes again, and after a few moments he could only hear Pearl screaming and Amethyst yelling.

The third time he opened his eyes, the huge ship was starting to lift and clouds of smoke clouded the scene. Pearl and Amethyst were gone, instead faded away into a bright light and was replaced by Opal. She shot with her bow and arrow. But after that the ship had shot another blast they had to duck not to get hit.

He shut his eyes again.

The fourth time he opened his eyes, he saw Opal running towards the ship and disappeared up in the air with a single jump.

"Pearl... Amethyst..." Steven tried to say in a low, hoarse voice. He tried to reach his hand out but it only fell.

Once again, he shut his eyes and the next time he opened them, Opal crashed down onto the sand on her side with a huge force and disappeared in a glow of light, leaving Pearl and Amethyst knocked out on the ground  
\--------------  
This time, he shut his eyes for a long time. And slowly, the beeping sound disappeared.

"Steven... Steven..." This time when he opened his eyes, his dad was in front of him, holding him up. Beside him stood Pearl and Amethyst, worriedly gazing down at him with tears in their eyes.

"STEVEN!" Greg grinned from ear to ear in a mix of terrified relief.

"Dad..." Steven tried to say in a hoarse voice. "Amethyst... Pearl... you're okay!"

"We're fine Steven." Pearl told him, taking a grip around his arm. "How are you feeling?"

"I... I don't know..." Steven muttered hoarsely. "Fine I guess..."

The trio smiled softly in relief.

"Let's go home Stu-Ball." Greg told him, smiling.

"Right... but wait..." Steven gazed around for a moment.

"Where is Garnet?" He asked.

Immediately, their smiles disappeared. Pearl covered her mouth and disappeared from sight, Amethyst turned around and Greg kept looking at him.

"...guys?"


	8. The Moon Base

It was afternoon, a pretty sunny day.

But it didn't feel like a sunny day.

The group had stopped about 3 miles from Beach City and camped nearby a junk-yard.

Speaking of junk-yard, they were inside the junk-yard.

Pearl was frantically searching through the metallic pile, speaking to herself and every now and then throwing a piece of metal to a specific pile.

Steven and Greg sat in some old armchairs, watching her search through.

Even Amethyst looked down, barely touching the junk around her.

Steven noticed the tension. Nobody had shared a word in hours.

And Steven was feeling heavy from the situation. "Okay! If nobody's gonna say it, fine, I'll do it!" He began, raising his voice. The others turned around. "Garnet's not here. We all miss her. None of us can function without her!"

"But we don't know where she is! And we don't have the access to the temple anymore!" Pearl replied helplessly.

"Then why are you looking for junk?!" Amethyst shouted.

"Because I don't know what to do!" Pearl shouted. "I don't know what to do! I'm just a pearl!" She shouted angrily, drying away a quick tear. "I'm just a pearl! I'm useless on my own! I need someone to tell me what to do!" She shouted. "Why aren't you looking for junk?!"

"Because I miss G! Okay?!" Amethyst blurted out.

"Hey, hey, guys. Let's calm down." Greg stood up and tried to calm the situation. "We all miss Garnet. That's a fact. But we need to keep it together."

"Keep it together?" Pearl began laughing. "That remind me of another thing! What if Garnet's not 'Garnet' anymore, hm? What if she is separated?!"

"No, I don't think so." Steven shook his head. "Jasper said something about some Morganite wanted a fusion to some... collection." He thought out loud.

"The morga-whu?" Amethyst asked.

"That's not something I recall." Pearl hummed in thought. "Must be new." She thought.

"Is there some place that can help us? Huh? Think, somewhere that has a clue of where they could have taken her." Steven told them.

"Well, there is one place. But it's impossible to get there without a ship." Pearl explained.

"What place is it?" Amethyst asked.

"Well, it's a place where we could track the coordinates of the ship. But it's on..." Pearl looked up, covering the top of her forehead to see through the light.

The trio looked up as well and saw the small silhouette of the moon in the daylight.

Steven gasped. "The moon!"

"Yes, Steven the moon." Pearl crossed her arms.

"Yeah, great. We got a plan." Amethyst muttered. "Then how do we get there?"

"The closest space station is in Florida." Steven shrugged.

"P, is there a warp pad nearby?" Amethyst asked the tall gem.

"I think so. At least not that far away." Pearl thought loudly and put a hand to her chin.

"Wait, are you serious about this?" Greg cut in confused.

"Then let's do it!" Steven exclaimed, clenching his fist. "Let's steal a space-ship!"  
\----------------------  
The next thing they knew they were inside the space station, hiding like spies from the people around.

They could see the ship, and the astronauts had not arrived yet.

Pearl was first to to the entrance, waving the other two to hurry over.

Steven and Amethyst rushed inside before Pearl shut the door.

They hurried to the control-room and Pearl was quick to the control seat, pushing all the buttons on the control-bridge.

"Uh, P. Have you ever controlled a ship like this?" Amethyst asked her.

"No. But it can't be harder than driving a car." Pearl hummed as she pressed one specific button.

"Launch in 10...9..."

It was now everyone else on the lower floor noticed their ship had been occupied and started panic.

"Earth to 11-P9! Have you completely lost your m-." Pearl shut the radio off.

Amethyst and Steven sat down in one of the seats and put on their seatbelts.

"3...2...1."

"Hold on!" Pearl shouted.

And the ship launched.

Steven looked completely terrified, Pearl looked concentrated and Amethyst-

"Whooo-hoooo!" Waved her arms in the air like she rode a roller-coaster.

The ship soon exit the earth's atmosphere and calmed down in speed.

Pearl pressed a button with a smile.

"Anti-gravity un-locked." A voice spoke

Steven and Amethyst let un-buckled their belts and started to slowly soar in the air, both grinning and laughing.

"Whoo, so cool!" Steven laughed.

"Hey Steven! Look!" Amethyst put her hands behind her head. "No hands!" She grinned.

Steven laughed and then floated over to Pearl, busy with controlling the ship.

"Pearl. What you said earlier. Did mom make you feel that way?" He asked her as he sat down beside her. "That you're useless?"

Pearl shook her head. "No. I made me feel that way." She sighed. "Pearls are so dependent in others that they can't decide for their own lives." She explained. "Your mother was the only one who ever made me feel like I could make decisions of my own." Pearl continued. "But I always feel like I always have those tiny, invisible reins that somebody else is holding."

"But today you didn't have those reins, right? You did all this, all on your own." Steven encouraged her.

Pearl chuckled. "Yes. I guess you're right." She then took a hold of a lever on the control-panel. "Now hold on." She warned and pulled it.

And just like it launched a second time, the ship dashed through space.  
\-------------  
The next thing they knew were that the ship gently landed on the moon's surface.

The door opened and Pearl proudly stepped outside.

Amethyst walked after.

Steven practically jumped down the stairs, laughing.

"Whoo! Cool!" He laughed as he jumped down the stairs and onto the ground. "Look at me! I'm a moon-boy!"

"Yeah! Go Steven!" Amethyst laughed and jumped, only to fall flat against the ground. "Hey! Why can't I be a moon-boy?!"

"We're gems, remember? We are immune to any planet's gravity type." Pearl explained.

"Ughh, lame!" Amethyst hissed in boredom.

"Come along Steven!" Pearl called as she headed for a great town not fair away.

There was a tower, really big in height.

"Whoaa." Steven gasped in awe.

Pearl walked over to the entrance and typed something on the screen beside the gate.

The gate opened and they stepped into a big, circular, gray room.

"Now, let's find the control-panel. I believe it's somewhere on the upper level." Pearl explained, her gem lighting up to be used as a light.

"Roger." Amethyst nodded, doing the same thing, creating a purple light.

Steven took a big jump and landed lightly. "What is this place anyway?" He asked, looking up at a big painting on the wall, featuring a big, yellow lady.

"The moon base was mostly used for the diamonds to keep in contact with their colonies." Pearl explained as she walked over to a spot beside the wall. "But this place has been deserted for centuries."

"Who are…." Steven suddenly stopped when he noticed a similar painting another wall, only this one was blue and wore a veil. Steven stopped his sentence and frowned uncomfortably.

Pearl hummed as she stood by the wall, gazing at the floor.

"What is it?" Steven asked as he jumped over to her.

"The floor pattern is different from the rest here." Pearl hummed and went down to her knees, placing her palms on the floor. "But I think if I do this-." She dragged her hands along the floor, and a long stair-way appeared against the wall.

Amethyst had unfortunately stood on the wrong spot and become a falling-victim of the raising stairs, sending her up and falling to the ground. "Hey!"

"There we go." Pearl hummed proudly and waved the others to come along as she walked up the stairs.

It was a vert long stairway and every now and then they passed different paintings of more colorful ladies.

At last, they had reached a room with what looked like to be a throne in the middle of the room.

"Whoo! Check it out!" Steven cheered and ran over.

"Steven! Be careful!" Pearl gasped.

Steven used the anti-gravitation on the moon to jump up and sit on the throne. Amethyst laughed too and ran over and sat beside him, leaving Pearl thinking 'of all the people I could travel o space with."

Once on the throne, Steven looked rather disappointed. "Hey! It didn't do anything!" He whined.

"It's because it's not auto-control." Pearl explained as she walked over. She looked over the chair until she pressed a button on the arm-rest.

A big, yellow screen appeared before them.

"Whoa!" Steven gasped.

Pearl moved her hands across the screen and pressed a few buttons on the arm-rest until a picture of the green ship from a few days ago. "Here we go. These are the coordinates of the ship. Mission to: The Morganite Facility?" She hummed in thought.

"There it is again. What's the deal with Morganite-what now?" Amethyst asked, crossing her arms.

"Jasper said something about a collection." Steven reminded them. "Maybe it's some kind of zoo?" He asked.

"Whatever it is, we have the coordinations." Pearl then smiled and clapped her hands together. "That's it! Mission accomplished! Now let's head over to the base's reserve ships!" She shut the screen and began to walk towards the the exit.

"Finally! This place gives me the creeps." Amethyst muttered as she jumped off the chair and walked after Pearl.

Steven remained where he sat, staring out into he room.  
\---------------  
Soon, they were sitting in a red ship, which looked way smaller from the outside, and on their way through space.

Pearl steered, as always while Amethyst slept loudly in one of the chairs.

Steven stood beside Pearl, watching her as she typed on the control-panel.

"There. I have typed in the coordinates." Pearl spoke determined.

"When will we get there?" Steven asked.

"In our current speed…." Pearl calculated the time of the control-panel "We'll arrive at the facility in approximately…. 12 hours."

Steven nodded and gazed out the window. Watching the lights in the darkness.

"We're coming Garnet."

"We promise."


	9. The Morganite facility Part: 1

They had soared through space for over 12 hours.

Pearl was steering like before, starting to look tired.

Amethyst was still asleep on one of the chairs, snoring loudly. 

Steven was sitting also on a chair, looking through his phone. 

”What? No signal?! But I’m right next to a satellite!” He raised his voice in annoyance, looking out at the satellite outside the window.

When suddenly, the ship slowed down abruptly, jolting everyone onboard.

”Hey! What gives?!” Amethyst shouted, drawl hanging out her mouth.

”We’re here.” Pearl announced, standing up.

Steven and Amethyst walked up next to her and looked out the window.

And there indeed it was!

It looked like a station with a humongous dome on it.

Outside there was a floor enough to land at least twenty space-ships on it. Right now, there stood about seven ships parked.

Woah…” Everyone gasped in awe.

”Garnet’s in there.” Steven stated.

Outside the dome was a huge gate, with an amethyst soldier guarding outside.

”Is that another amethyst?” Steven asked.

”Ughh. What was I thinking?! We can't just walk in and out of the facility without anyone knowing!" Pearl face-palmed herself. "An ownerless pearl, a defective Amethyst and.... you." She looked down at Steven.

"We need a plan. And that's now." Pearl demanded, gritting her teeth in thought.

They thought for a while. 

"I got it!" Amethyst blurted out, snapping her fingers.  
\-----------

An Amethyst stood by the gate, guarding the entrance.

When suddenly, another Amethyst her size, a pearl and a human approached her.

"State your purpose." The guard demanded with a hiss.

"We have returned from our mission and would like to access the facility." Pearl answered politely.

"What mission?" The Amethyst hissed.

"The mission of bringing more exotic creatures to the facility." Pearl replied. "We have brought a rare creature called a 'human'." She pat Steven on the back to go forward, and he did nervously.

"Uh.... hi... human words and stuff like that...." He mumbled quietly.

The Amethyst scoffed. "Sorry, but we don't need any more 'humans'." She laughed. "And Morganite doesn't allow any outsiders inside the facility." When suddenly, Amethyst leaned in uncomfortably close to the guard.

"Hey, pal. Do you have any idea who this is?" She asked, pointing towards the pale gem behind her. "This is Morganite's pearl."

"M-M-Morganite's Pearl?" The Amethyst stuttered nervously. "But I thought Morganite exiled her last pearl!"

"Oh yeah? Well this is her new, better pearl." Amethyst told her. "So if you don't let us in to that facility, we're gonna go personally to Morganite and tell her that you disrespected her pearl. What punishment would that lead to, you think?"

She looked at her sheepishly. Though, she didn't know the answer herself so she used her hand behind her back to tell the others she needed back up.

Pearl tensed in realization. "Bubbled!"

"That's right! You're gonna be bubbled and they'll throw away the key to the room." Amethyst continued. "So either you let us in or we'll give the message to Morganite right now!"

"Y-yes- of course." The amethyst stuttered and went back to press a screen on the wall.

The gates opened.

"Enjoy your visit, Morganite's Pearl." She said nervously, saluting them.

"Thank you." Pearl nodded as they walked pass them.

The Amethyst seemed to sigh out in relief.

The trio passed the gate, when a sudden feeling gushed through them all.

When they all entered the other side, they shivered uncomfortably.

And once the doors were closed, Amethyst turned back to normal with a loud sigh.

"Amethyst! You were great!" Steven cheered, hugging her.

"I'll say, you should join a theatre group sometime, Amethyst." Pearl hummed delighted.

"No thanks. One drama queen in the house is enough." Amethyst smiled tiredly and suddenly looked up. "Whoa..."

It was.... HUGE. It.... actually didn't look that different from a forest on earth. There were grass and flowers, trees, rocks, boulders. Everything.

"Wow....." Steven sighed in awe. "It's beautiful."

Pearl nodded. "Yes. But it's not harmless. Look." She nodded to the right. There was a big door at the wall. "It's an entrance door. They probably have constant monitoring of the whole place, and uses that door just in case." She whispered. "We need to be extra careful, blend in."

"Blend in. Right." Steven nodded with a hum. "Like a ninja."

"Yes. A ninja." Pearl muttered as she began walking.

And as they made their way through the forest, they came across many different creatures.

They were mostly animals from other planets, but also some humanistic figures and some gems here and there.

”What do you guys think this place is for?” Steven asked.

”No idea.” Pearl shook her head.  
\-------------  
They walked for a while until they had settled down by a few rocks by a small water-fall where some animals bathed and drank.

”We need to make up a plan for how we get out of here once we find Garnet.” Pearl spoke as she sat down on a rock. ”Amethyst’s aren’t that smart, but they’ll soon find out there is no new ’Morganite’s pearl.”

”Rude.” Amethyst muttered

When suddenly, a big shadow covered them. They looked up to see a muscular, blue gem with rainbow dreads and tattoos smiling down at them.

”Hi ya, newbies. What’re you doing?” She asked as she sat down, resting her arms on her thighs. 

Amethyst, Pearl and Steven looked at her. Amethyst gave her a stare you gave an enemy, Pearl looked uncertain and Steven confused but awed by the gem's appearance.

The gem and chuckled. "What? The guards got your tongue?" She joked.

The gems didn’t respond.

"Name's Bismuth.” The gem said. ”You?”

The gem didn’t reply. But Steven reached out a hand.

”Steven.” Spoke shyly.

”Glad to meet ya, lil’ meatball.” Bismuth grinned and shook his hand. ”Okay, enough with the small talk.” She said, suddenly dead-serious. ”I heard you guys talk. You’re planning an escape. I want in.” 

”Escape? What escape?! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Pearl began laughing hysterically. Drama queen or what?

”P, chill. chill.” Amethyst hushed her.

Bismuth raised an eyebrow. ”Well. I think I might have something that will refresh your memory.” For a moment she sat up straighter and dug her hand inside her pocket. And then, her very large hand placed something on the ground.

Something very familiar.

The pair of visor they all had seen every single day over the past years

Amethyst, Pearl and Steven gasped and stood up.

”Garnet!” Steven gasped.

”What have you done with her?!” Pearl roared, clenching her teeth.

"Yeah! Talk, Innie or- HUH?!" Amethyst hissed before she reached her hand to summon her weapon. But it never appeared. Confused, she palpated her gem.

”Ah ah ah.” Bismuth laughed with a sheepish smile. "Remember the gate earlier when you passed through the door? It's an Eraser. It locks all access to your gem. Just in case we get violent." She explained and grinned down at the small gem. "Not so tough anymore, huh tiny?"

Amethyst hissed angrily between gritted teeth.

”What do you want from us?!” Pearl shouted angrily.

”Let me and a couple of friends go with you, and I’ll talk.” Bismuth told them.

Steven just stared at her. And then, he looked back at his care-takers.

Pearl and Amethyst shared a glance, and then both nodded. 

Pearl stepped forward, and reached her hand out. And she nodded determined.

Bismuth smiled sheepishly and shook it.

"Happy to do business with you, newbies." She chuckled. "So, about the plan-."

"Take us to Garnet first, then we'll talk about the plan." Pearl said sternly, fire in her eyes.

Bismuth got taken by surprise but then laughed. "A pearl making the orders? I though I'd seen everything." She laughed loudly. A belly-laugh. It ended with her drying a tear away from the corner of her eye. "I like you, skinny. Come along then, let's find your friend." She waved them to come along and started walking.

Pearl and Amethyst shared an un-certain glance, but obeyed and followed her.  
\----------

They walked for about twenty minutes into the forest, and passed many odd creatures on their way.

Among them was a big cater-pillar looking fusion, a regular sized fusion, an orange sapphire and a red gem with split upper bodies.

"So, Bismuth." Amethyst began suspiciously, crossing her arms. "Been here long?"

"A couple thousand years." Bismuth shrugged. "I know this place like the back of my hand." She clenched her fist and grinned. "The rules are pretty simple here. Do you misbehave, you get one shot. Three shots and you're bubbled. Or worse." She nodded to some round marking on the walls. "Robonoids. They can detect everything gem. And destroy it."

The gems turned and saw the hidden robots in the wall.

Steven got a weird feeling his gut.

”Managed to save this little guy yesterday.” From out of a pocket, Bismuth picked up a blue gem and held it in her hand.

Steven recognized it immediately. ”Lapis…”

”Yeah. She told me she had just escaped somewhere and…. Life hit her hard when she came back to homeworld.” Bismuth explained.

”So Lapis made it off earth.” Pearl muttered.

”But she did not come far.” Amethyst muttered.

”Yeah, that’s life, you know...” Bismuth and put the gem back in her pocket.

They continued walking until they reached a glade.

And someone very familiar stood in the middle of it.

”Garnet!” They all cried and threw herself at her. Garnet did barely have time to react before she fell onto her back.

"You're okay!" Steven cried, tears of joy running down his eyes.

Bismuth stood where she was, laughing.

They sat up, all more or less tear-eyed.

”Garnet! We’re sorry!” Pearl cried tear-eyed. ”We saw Jasper poofing you and taking your gems. We tried to fight her but….” She looked down ashamed.

”I know.” Garnet rest a hand of comfort on her shoulder. Her outfit had changed slightly. It was still a one-piece suit, but it had more of a purple hit to it and looked more like an overall.

Pearl smiled.

”Hey ya, newbies.” They looked up at Bismuth grinning down at them, hands on her hips. ”You trying to hug my pal to poofing?” She asked teasingly.

”Pal?” Steven asked, as confused as the others. He watched as Bismuth helped Garnet up to her feet.

"You okay? Had any more accidents?" She asked her, patting her back. 

Garnet just grunted and playfully pushed her hand away. "No." She said.

”Wait, you know each-other?!” Steven blurted.

”Yup!” Bismuth grinned proudly. ”We’re escape-buds, aren’t we power-couple?”

Garnet just chuckled as she adjusted her visor. ”That’s right.”

”So wait, you didn’t keep Garnet hostage?” Amethyst asked suspiciously.

Garnet seemed surprise at first and then crossed her arms ”Bismuth…”

”Hey! They were planning an escape! I couldn’t resist!” Bismuth laughed in defense. ”Speaking of which. Any more ideas on the plan-front?” She asked.

”I have sensed that the second door opens during emergencies. If we could make up some sort of diversion that leaves the amethysts rushing inside the dome, we could escape through the door.” Garnet explained, adjusting her visor.

"That's great!" Steven cheered.

"But there's one problem." Garnet cut in. "If we exit through that door, we'll not pass the Eraser and get access to our gemstones."

"Oh..."

"Which means we need to leave through the entrance." Pearl pointed put.

Garnet nodded.

"What if...." Pearl thought loudly, hand on her chin. "We need someone on the outside." She looked at the others.

The other immediately had the expression of hopelessness on their faces.

Except Bismuth. "I know what to do." She told them.

The gems looked at her in confusion.

"Meet me by the emergency-exit in twenty minutes!" She told them and ran off.

The gem and Steven shared a glance of confusion.  
\--------------  
Twenty minutes later, they had gathered by the wall of the dome, where there were four gems waiting for them by the wall.

One was tall and had patches here and there in colors from all colors from purple to orange and her hair was a short bob's hair-cut.

The second one was the same height as the other, only brown and had long, light-brown hair hanging behind her back.

The third one was bismuth.

And the fourth one was a bit shorter than the other three, had white skin and gray stripes and light-blue hair which hung over her shoulder in a braid. Though the confusing part was that she wasn't with them. She was outside the dome.

”Who are they?” Amethyst asked as she and the rest of the crystal gems had gathered around them.

Bismuth gestured to the two shorter gems beside her. ”That's Biggs and Crazy Lace." They nodded with a smile. "And this is my girl.” She then gestured towards the gem outside the dome, who smiled faintly and waved. 

"She's outside the dome." Pearl stated the obvious in awe.

"Yeah, Snowflake kind of was the one who brought me to this place. She's a guard." Bismuth chuckled in embarassment, scratching the back of her head. "But from that moment, we felt we had a special connection. And we decided that one day, we'll get out of this place. Together." She smiled tear-eyed and put her hand against the glass of the dome.

The striped gem outside smiled and rest a hand against hers.

"Aww." Steven awwed lovingly.

Bismuth dried away the tears and turned back to the gems. "We have a plan. Tonight, we'll all go towards the entrance. Snowflake will be there and lock up the door so we can pass." She told them. 

"We can use facility's escape pods. They're beneath the parking base." Biggs suggested, her voice raspy. "They load it everyday with 60 minutes interval."

"How long do we have left?" Crazy Laze asked.

Bismuth looked back from have asked Snowflake. "46 minutes."

"That's it!" Pearl clapped her hands together in delight.

"Awesome! I'm sick of this place!" Amethyst cheered.

While Bismuth and the rest discussed the plan, Steven heard Garnet beside him mutter:

"It's not a good idea." 

"Huh?" Steven looked up at her.

"It's too easy of a plan. No facility of this size is gonna let their specimens go that easy." Garnet said, crossing her arms.

"Well, it's not too bad to try. Right?" Steven tried to cheer her up.

"I don't like it." Garnet muttered. 

Steven was starting to get a weird feeling in his gut again.

Which worsened as Garnet turned around to walk away.

Amethyst noticed through the corner of her eyes. She turned around

"Garnet! Where the heck are you going?!" Amethyst hissed in a whisper.

Garnet stopped and grit her teeth.

But then-

Continued to walk away.

"Garnet!" Amethyst shouted.

The gems heard her yelling and turned around in question.

"Huh?" Pearl hummed.

"Garnet bailed!" Amethyst shouted to them.

"What?!" Bismuth shouted back in surprise.

"Oh no she doesn't!" Pearl grabbed Amethyst by the sleeve and pulled her along the direction Garnet went.

Bismuth turned towards the gems inside and outside the dome. "We'll meet you guys by the entrance in forty-five minutes." She told them. The gems nodded and went their different directions.

Meanwhile, Amethyst and Pearl rushed after Garnet as she walked.

"Garnet! What the heck was that?!" Amethyst shouted in anger, standing before her.

"I left." Garnet muttered and began walking.

"No duh!" Amethyst shouted.

"What are you thinking?!" Pearl shouted as she ran along with her. "We have the perfect opportunity!"

"Stop when we're talking to you!" Amethyst scolded as she stood in front of her, stopping her.

"It...." Garnet began, gritting her teeth. "It's not the right timing." She said.

"What?!" Amethyst blurted angrily.

"What do you mean 'not the right timing'?!" Pearl blurted as well.

"I...." Garnet stuttered, trying to figure out something to say.

"Tell us the real deal." Amethyst crossed her arms.

"I...." Garnet stuttered until she looked down in defeat. "I'm.... under surveillance." She honestly answered.

Again, the duo looked at her in complete confusion.

"You're what?" Amethyst asked.

Garnet didn't answer. She just kept on walking again.

Pearl followed her. "Garnet, please. You need to talk to us-." Their speaking faded in the distance, leaving Amethyst back in the glade. 

When suddenly, a shadow covered her.

”Hey, look what we have here.” She looked up, only to see two Amethysts standing above her, smirking down. 

Pearl and Garnet heard the sound of someone shouting "HEY!"

"Huh?" They stopped in their tracks and turned back.

No Amethyst.

Pearl and Garnet shared a glance of worry.  
\--------------------

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the the dome, Bismuth and Steven was trying to look for the gems.

"This place is much bigger inside than the outside." Steven said as he walked through a buskage, moving some branches aside. "Where are we heading anyway?" He asked.

Bismuth smashed a branch aside with her hand as they passed through the wooden path. "We're heading towards the entrance." She answered him. "And hopefully we'll get out of here."

Steven jumped over a branch on the ground and followed her. "What exactly is 'here'?" He asked.

”It’s mostly a facility that was gifted to Morganite for her to store her exotic or defect gems in. But we also have some criminals too.” Bismuth explained as they walked. ”It’s perfectly programmed to stand for every creature’s needs. Well, except the basement.” She shrugged.

”What’s there?” Steven asked.

Bismuth’s face fell dark for a moment as she stopped. ”Weird stuff…” She continued walking. "Me and your fusion-friend actually accidentally ended up there during one of our escape-attempts." She continued explaining. "Until those darn guards found out. Garnet ended up falling right into the pool." She frowned. 

”Pool?” Steven asked.

”It’s….” Bismuth began in thought. ”Hard to explain when you haven’t seen it yourself.”

”Then, can you show me?" Steven asked.

”I don’t know…” Bismuth stopped and looked skeptical. "I already got two shots and if I get one more, I'll end up in a bubble…”

"It will be quick! And it will be smooth too! We can do it like professionals!" Steven said excitedly, posing like a ninja. "Like ninjas!"

Bismuth laughed. "Hahaha. I like your spirit, little meatball!" She grinned and laid a hand on his back. "But seriously, though. What's a ninja?”  
\------------------------

An Amethyst held a smaller, struggling amethyst in her arms, walking through the lushing climate of the dome to the opposite side of the dome.

What she didn't know was that two figures were following her, hiding behind the bushes.

The amethyst stopped by the dome-wall, and the two figures down crouched behind a big rock.

"What is she doing?" Pearl whispered.

"No idea." Garnet answered her lowly.

The amethyst pushed one small part of the wall, making it light up. She pressed it, until suddenly-

A door opened. An invisible door that appeared once she pressed the screen.

She walked inside.

Garnet waved for Pearl to come along, and she and Pearl ran after, barely making it inside before the door shut close heavily behind them and disappeared into the wall again.

They were met by darkness, not counting the light coming from the amethyst's gem further.

"I don't like this." Pearl whispered.

Garnet put a finger to her lips and hushed her, waving her to come along.

They began walking.

It was a very long, dark hallway ahead of them. They didn't see much, but the walls, floor and ceiling had a rather pink-ish hue to it.

They followed the Amethyst for a good hundred feet.

Pearl was feeling uncomfortable the whole way and ended up grabbing a hold of Garnet's upper arm for support.

The amethyst suddenly stopped a couple feet away from them pressed another screen on the wall.

Another door opened.

She passed the doorway, Amethyst struggling and shouting in her arm.

Garnet and Pearl hurried over, hiding behind the wall.

Garnet peaked out discretely to get a glimpse of the room.

There was another dome.

A way, way smaller transparent dome was placed in the middle of the gigantic room.

The room was octagonal shaped and had a deep red shade to it.

Garnet looked up. "Look."

Pearl looked up.

There were platforms attached to the walls, giving a good glance over the dome bellow them.

Standing on the the platforms were maybe a hundred gems, all in different types, sizes and colors.

A couple spotlights hanging from the ceiling light up brightly and they could see the whole scene much clearer and the gem on the platforms cheered even louder.

"It's a Kesshō Tatakai." Pearl practically gasped wide-eyed as she watched the amethyst carry their Amethyst to the dome. "A gem battle."

"Hey! Dude! Come on! Chill, will ya?!" Amethyst shouted frantically.

The amethyst carried her to the wall of the dome, opening an opening in the wall, delimited by a yellow electric field.

”Hey! Let me go! I said let me go!” Amethyst roared at them as she kicked her legs and struggled.

But the amethyst simply chuckled. ”Those new fighters are always so spunky.” She pressed a hand to the screen on the wall, and the electric field faded. ”In you go!” She then threw the small gem inside and the field re-closed the entrance.

”No wait!” Amethyst yelled and touched the field, only to get a big blast on her hand. ”AH!” She waved her hand violently, then blew on it as if it was on fire.

She turned around at the sound of the cheering crowd.

The dome looked to be way bigger than it seemed. The floor was practically white and the walls invisible. And there was a big door at the other side of the dome.

But there was one gem in the crowd who seemed to get chocked as she saw her.

When suddenly, a hatch in the roof lf the dome opened, and a plate rose from out of the dome.

She was quite tall, had pink skin and pink hair and a pink dress which floated behind her.

"Gems and pebbles and other organisms! Holy Agates and mighty Aquamarines! Welcome to..... Kesshō Tatakai!" The gem spoke loudly, waving with one arm in the air.

The crowd cheered even louder.

"I am your host, Hessonite and I will now present to you the contestants of the night!" The hessonite spoke.

The spotlight moved to the small Amethyst, who had to cover her eyes with her arm to avoid the light.

"With us tonight, we have a new fellow to the dome. No other than the very gem who was reported disguised as a guard to access our facility this very morning!"

The crowd began immediately to show their discontent. "BUU!"

Amethyst laughed nervously.

"On our other side, we have a familiar face with us tonight. A beloved fighter who's been gone for decades to serve under our dear Morganite's command-!" The hessonite spoke.

The door on the other side of the tome started to slowly open as the spotlight moved to the other side

Amethyst stepped back.

Garnet and Pearl grit their teeth.

"Everyone! Give a warm welcome toooo......" The hessonite continued.

The over eight feet tall gem stepped inside, her long hair waving behind her and the spotlight reflecting onto the gem on her nose.

"Jaspeeeer!"

Amethyst's eyes widened.

The Jasper's stone-cold gaze turned into surprised anger as she saw her.

"You...."  
-


	10. The morganite Facility Part: 2

The crowd cheered even louder, stomping and clapping their hands.

"Wreck her Jasper!" One shouted.

"Show her what a real gem looks like!" Another one shouted

”I have to fight against her?!” Amethyst shrieked.

The hessonite started speaking again. "Dear contestants. Please meet in the middle of the dome to greet each-other!"

The Jasper started walking.

Amethyst gulped and started walking as well.

They met in the middle, only staring at each-other.

The hessonite spoke: "Beloved gems, I hope you have put your bets because the fight will begin in 5.....4....3....2....1."

The crowd silenced.

"H-hey dude..." Amethyst began nervously. "Why don't we just... stop this stupid thing and just go... okay? I think that sounds really cool to me." She nervously spoke.

The quartz lifted her foot.

Amethyst stepped back.

And Jasper kicked her right in the stomach.

Pearl and Garnet gasped.

The crowd cheered.

Amethyst flew back and landed on her stomach. She looked up terrified.

The quartz stepped close to her. She lifted her up by the shirt. And threw her across the room.  
Amethyst was slammed against the dome-wall and fell to the ground.

She looked up in pain as the quartz approached her again.

But this time, she crouched down before her and whispered.

"I was there too, you know. On earth." She hissed. "I was made on that planet just as you. But you.... you stayed in the ground for too long. Didn't you?" She spoke. "But there are two different kinds of gems. The perfect ones.... and the worthless."

Amethyst stared up at her.

Jasper lifted her up again, this time by the shirt by her neck. "And you.... you're just a busted wheel!" She slammed her against the dome-wall, holding her by the throat.

Amethyst held her hands, kicking her legs.

"The rebels failed, Homeworld fled. And what are you supposed to be?" Jasper hissed.

Amethyst tried to break free, but it was no use. The quartz was too strong.

When suddenly, she noticed the lamps up in the ceiling of the dome. "You know Jasper..... you say I'm a busted wheel...." Her legs started to glow. "But it's all about 'perspective'. And you know what?" 

"Even good wheels are funny to burn." From out of nowhere, her shape-shifted legs kicked the lamps in the ceiling until it broke from the ceiling.

Jasper did barely have time to react before the big spotlight slammed right onto her.

She disappeared in a cloud instantly.

Amethyst fell down to her knees, breathing heavily.

Pearl wanted to run in and help her, but Garnet grabbed her hand.

Everything was silent.

Until they heard.....

Cheering.

Every gem on the platform cheered in unison, clapping and shouting.

Amethyst stood up, looking around in chock.

"Unbelievable! The champion has been defeated!" Hessonite shouted. "Everyone! Give a big applause to- wait a minute. Another amethyst? That doesn't sound that well." Hessonite thought. "Everyone! Give a even bigger applause to..... PURPLE PUMA!"

”Purple puma! Purple puma! Purple puma!” Everyone around her cheered.

Amethyst couldn't help but grin.

When suddenly, the the electric field opened and she turned around.

Exhausted, she started running.

She ran outside and headed for the the exit, when a purple hand wrapped itself around her.

"Hey! What gives?!" She shouted, struggling.

"Wheew do you think you're going?" An amethyst snickered, holding her. "Winner or loser. All contestants goes back to the facility." She said and turned around to take her away.

That was the last drop for Garnet.

She ran out, ignoring Pearl's attempt to stop her.

"Amethyst!" She shouted, shape-shifting her arm until it grabbed Amethyst by the foot and dragged her out of the amethyst's grip.

"Huh?" The amethyst mumbled in confusion.

Garnet dragged Amethyst until she was with them and let her go.

"A bit gentle next time, G?" Amethyst muttered, rubbing her head.

"We need to go!" Garnet shouted as something red suddenly blasted their way. She grabbed her by the arm and ran for the hallway.

"Hey! P! Did you see me?!" Amethyst shouted happily as they passed them and started running along the hallway.  
\---------------------------

Meanwhile, Steven and Bismuth had walked to a restricted area deep in the forest.

Bismuth stood on her knees and lifted a hatch in the floor, putting it aside

”What are you doing?” Steven asked.

”What? Did you think we would walk in through the entrance like guests? We’re prisoners, remember?” Bismuth then climbed through the vent.

Steven was skeptical but followed, shutting the hatch behind him.

After a long tunnel, Bismuth pushed the wicket with one hand so that it fell to the floor. She then slithered forward and jumped down to the floor. She then caught Steven as he jumped and put him down to the floor.

The room was very big, and had a reddish-pink hue to it. 

The walls had big screens and there was a big pool-looking hole in the floor. But to their luck, it was empty from gems. 

”Whoa….” Steven gasped in awe as he looked around the room.

”Yeah, rather that than ’who-hoo’.” Bismuth muttered as she stepped further inside. ”Come along, meatball. I wanna come out of here alive.” She called and Steven quickly rushed over.

They stepped over to the pool-looking hole in the ground and stepped just before it.

Steven’s eyes turned to stars in amazement. ”Whoaa…”

It was so beautiful.

It looked indeed like a pool, or more like a fountain. It was quite big and had a hexagon shape to it.

Inside was a lake of wonderful colors. Pink, purple, yellow, white, ALL colors in different hues, all mixed into one beautiful mass of water-looking essence. Connected to the pool were a few thick pipes, which reached up the walls up to a huge injector- looking machine above them.

”Is this what you were talking about?” Steven whispered, going down to his knees and reached his hand to touch. ”It’s….” His pupils turned into white stars. ”It’s beautiful.”

Bismuth immediately flung in and pulled him back, holding him up. ”Don’t touch that!” She blurted.

When suddenly, they heard the sound of a door opening. Bismuth tensed and quickly pulled Steven in under her arm, hiding behind the wall behind them. ”Take cover, soldier!” She whispered.

The door closed and a the sound of footsteps came closer and closer until a pair of green feet stood in the middle of the room.

The green gem frowned down at her screen, a silly triangular mass of blonde hair on her head.

”This is Peridot. Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG on mission to keep track of the early progress of the Cluster.” She spoke loudly, probably recording something.

”Log date: 7476. The mission has been compromised. Approximately two sun-rotations ago the essence was contaminated by one of the facility’s specimens. The fusion in question has been put under surveillance time forward. Solution: Regular surveillance of the essence in case of corruption.”

”If we have luck, the essence will be approved and ready to create more gems on planet earth.” She then stepped closer to the pool.

”Bismuth….” Steven began as the green gem used one of her limb-enhancer fingers and dipped it in the essence of the pool. ”That essence….. are they gonna make new gems?! Is that what gems are made of?!”

Bismuth hushed him.

Peridot lifted her ’finger’ up and placed it before the screen, scanning it. There was a ’pling’ sound and a text sayin ’Complete’ on the screen.

"Gem essence progression complete. Begin essence transfer in 5.....4....3...2.....1."

Suddenly, the huge injector above the pool started glowing bright red.

And slowly, the essence of the pool was starting to fill out the pipes which was connected to fill the injector. The pipes on the floor and walls was giving the room a glow of beautifully mixed colors which later on slowly filled the injector.

Bismuth and Steven watched from their hiding space in distrust.

"Bismuth.... what's going on?" Steven asked, looking up at the big gem.

"I don't know." Bismuth replied, frowning at the sight. "But whatever it is.... it's not good."

Steven did not like that answer.

Peridot watched the transfer of essence for a few moments before turning around, looking at her screen.

Bismuth had to pull Steven further back behind the wall as Peridot turned their way.

"Transfer upkeep complete. I'll initiate my travel to planet earth immediately." She began walking towards the exit doors.

Steven tried to stand up a bit to see, when his phone suddenly fell out of his pocket and landed on the floor with a loud thud.

Steven and Bismuth tensed. Steven looked frightened Bismuth's way.

Peridot immediately turned around. Though, she didn't seem to see anything.

Bismuth had her arm protectively held before Steven.

Peridot seemed to get nervous by the sound. That's why she continued talking. "The chamber has been compromised. Initiating exit immediately." She pushed the the screen on the wall to open the door, but just before she left, she slammed the screen hard, making it turn red.

The doors soon closed behind her.

Steven and Bismuth stepped out of their hiding spot, slowly approaching the pool, pipes and injector that was still in working progress.

"She's gonna inject." Steven said lowly.

"Huh?" Bismuth turned her head.

"On earth, we have the same injectors. Just smaller." Steven looked up at the injector. ”Amethyst said that homeworld used some goo to grow new gems on other planets. Is this the goo she was talking about?”

”It appears to add up to that.” Bismuth muttered in dislike.

"If Peridot injects all that essence on earth, it will dry every drop of life that grows there and leave nothing behind." He spoke. "And it won't stop until earth is just one, big kindergarten.”

”Yikes. Too bad for that planet.” Bismuth muttered, putting her hands to her hips.

”That’s our home.” Steven muttered.

”Wait-.” Bismuth walked over and crouched down before Steven, putting her hands on his shoulders. ”You guys are from earth?” She asked.

Steven nodded. ”Yeah.”

”But….” Bismuth stuttered. ”The soldiers said that there were no gems left on earth.” She said in confusion. ”All rebels were demolished after….” She cut herself off and took a step back. ”Wait…. Are you guys…?”

Steven pulled his shirt off, revealing his pink gem.. ”We are what’s left of the Crystal Gems.”

Bismuth could see her shocked expression in his gem. ”The Crystal Gems?”

Steven nodded.

Bismuth looked split in how she reacted. 

When a tear suddenly ran down her cheek. ”Wow….the Crystal Gems.” She sobbed, drying a tear away. But she grimased- ”I’m sorry…..” She apologized, crying into her hand.

”Huh?”

Bismuth sat down, tears running down her cheeks. ”It was the beginning of the war. Homeworld soldiers had been send to fight towards the rebels. I was on earth, building towers for the elites.” She explained. ”And then I met her….Rose Quartz….” She smiled from the memory. ”She was the only one who ever told me I could be anything more than who I was supposed to be.”

”So I promised I’d join them. But I was caught for treason.” She sobbed. ”And I was send here.” She grit her teeth in anger. ”I could have helped….I could have been there…”

Steven listened to every word.

”Is it true…?” Bismuth looked up at him. ”Did we really win?” She asked.

Steven nodded.

Bismuth smiled, almost laughing. ”And Rose…?”

Steven shook his head sadly. He lifted up his shirt again and revealed his gem. ”She’s not with us anymore. She disappeared bringing me to the world.”

Bismuth was shocked at first. But her expression slowly softened into a smile.

”I bet you’re even better than her.” She smiled.

Steven smiled back.

When suddenly, the door opened and five amethyst guards rushed inside.

”Hey!” One of the shouted. ”What are you doing in here?!”

Bismuth and Steven flew up, backing away.

”Shoot! Steven! I can’t take another shot!” Bismuth gasped.

Steven tried to summon his shield, but it was no use.

One of the amethysts summoned a Diskus-looking weapon and thew it at them, but missed and landed beside Steven.

Steven picked it up and threw the diskus, but missed the Amethyst and instead hit the injector.

The diskus hit the injector and flew back, hitting Steven right in the head.

”Ah!” He screamed before falling unconsciously to the ground.

”Steven!” Bismuth gasped and picked the boy up in her arms.

Suddenly, she heard a crack.

The glass of the injector was starting to shatter, until it gave away for the pressure and the essence poured out of the injector in lightning speed.

The essence was now running slowly on the floor like lava.

What the-.” One of the amethysts groaned. ”XK! XS! Let’s get out of here!” She shouted.

In a matter of second the amethysts had escaped the room and shut the door behind them.

Now it was just Bismuth towards the essence with Steven in her arms. She was cornered against the wall with the essence slowly flowing towards her.  
\-----------------------

It was their way from homeworld.

Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst ran for their lives, heading for the entrance.

They could hear the robonoids not far behind them. 

”We’re almost there!” Garnet shouted.

”But where is Steven and Bismuth?!” Pearl shouted.

”Bismuth knows this place like her own hand! They’ll be here!” Garnet shouted back.

”Oh yeah? This place is HUGE! Like Bismuth’s hands!” Amethyst shouted, a bit annoyed.

”Amethyst!” Pearl scolded.

”Stop you fighting! We need to find the exit and Steven before-!” When suddenly, Garnets stopped in her tracks.  
She grunted, sweating lightly. 

She wrapped her hands around herself, her gems glowing incessantly. 

Pearl and Amethyst stopped in their tracks.

”Garnet!”

They rushed over to her. But at the time they reached her, she had already collapsed on the ground.

”What’s wrong with her?!” Amethyst shrieked.

”I don’t know!” Pearl shouted back, lifting Garnet’s head up.

”Let’s make Opal!” Amethyst suggested.

”We can’t! The eraser cuts off all abilities of a gem, including fusion if you didn’t pass it as a fusion!” Pearl explained in a high tone.

When suddenly, the blasts of the robonoids almost hit Amethyst in the arm.

”Whaa! Let’s go already!” Amethyst helped lift up Garnet so that Pearl could hold her in her arms before they started running.

It looked hard, considering the size-differences between the fusion and Pearl, but Pearl made it without a sweat.

They soon reached the entrance, where Biggs and Crazy-laze waited for them.

”Where have you been?!” Snowflake asked.

”No time to explain! Just take her!” Pearl handed Garnet over to Snowflake, who held her without protest. 

”We got nine minutes before the escape pod activates!” Biggs alerted them in panic. ”Where is Bismuth?!”

”We don’t know!” Pearl shouted as she stood ready to fight the robonoids.  
\-----------------------------

The essence was drawing nearer and Bismuth was becoming more and more cornered.

But Bismuth had a plan.

”On with your seatbelts, little buddy.” She threw Steven over her shoulder and clenched her fist.

And with incredible power, she slammed her fist against the ground.

Nothing happened at first, but soon there were starting to form cracks in the floor which the essence was starting to drip down into.

Soon, there was a huge crack in the floor and within moments, it all had dripped down the drain.

The facility wasn’t a planet, so the essence simply ran down into the metallic-ash crater and it was soon gone from existence.

Bismuth just watched as every last drop of essence dripped down the cracks into nothing.

”Well, that was pretty easy.” Bismuth chuckled in exhaustion. She tensed. ”The escape pod!” She dashed for the door, opened it and rushed outside.

\----------------------------------  
Amethyst slammed the last robonoid to the ground, destroying it.

She panted. ”We should give Steven a clock or something!” She panted.

Pearl, Biggs and Crazy lace was as exhausted as she was.

Unti-

Bismuth ran over to them, Steven in his arms.

”Steven!” Peal and Amethyst gasped and rushed over.

”We need to go! NOW!” Bismuth shouted.

Steven opened his eyes.

He didn't see much though. His mind wandered on and off from consciousness and un-consciousness.

What he did see was the back of Bismuth's back, and some robonoids closing in on them.

He shut his eyes. And opened his eyes again.

He saw a blue gem falling behind them, landing on the floor.

He could hear fighting and screaming until everything.....

Just became black


	11. Chapter 11

Steven took a big bite of his sandwich, chewing loudly. "Life is beautiful!" He almost cried out.

He was sitting on a maddrass in a familiar room with a bandage around his head.

Greg sat by the feet of the maddrass, smiling gently.

"How're you feeling, Stu-Ball?" He asked him.

"Good. I think." Steven shrugged, putting the plate with the sandwich on the table beside the bed. "What happened anyway?"

"The gems said you took a nasty hit in the head in space, getting Garnet back." Greg explained to him. "The gems carried you to some escape-pod and called me on a public telephone once they reached earth."

"Where on earth did we reach?" Asked Steven.

"We're in Stone Wall, fifty miles from Beach City." Greg a answered him, handing him a juice-box. "And uh... your phone took a nasty hit too." He handed him his phone, which's screen had a few cracks in it.

"Noo!" Steven gasped, grabbing his phone. "Please still work, please still work!" He begged and pressed the button.

The screen light up.

"Oh thank goodness." Steven sighed in relief and looked opened his phone.

37 un-answered phone-calls from Connie.

"Geeze." He grimased, scrolling through his phone-book. "How long was I out anyway."

"Well, you only got here about an hour ago but you were out maybe half a day." Greg shrugged. "You really scared us, buddy."

"Sorry?" Steven squeaked, taking a long zip of his juice.

When suddenly, the van-doors opened and Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl rushed inside.

"Steven!"

"Guys!" Steven gasped as they all ran in and sat beside him.

"You scared the heck out of us dude!"

"Oh Steven! How are you feeling?! Let me look at you!" Pearl frantically began examinating him, looking at every part of his body she could.

"Pearl! I'm fine!" Steven mumbled when Pearl suddenly opened his mouth wide.

Pearl hummed. "You seem fine but let's give you a flu- shot just in case." She summoned a syringe out of her gem and held it. "This will only hurt a couple hours." She grabbed his arm.

"No! Pearl! I'm fine! I promise!" Steven jumped back, waving his hands in defence.

"Oh, alright then." Pearl hummed and tgrew the syringe over her shoulder.

Greg immediately threw himself to catch it, nervously holding it by the end with two fingers.

When suddenly, Steven's eyes widened and he tensed.

"Pearl! The basement! There's a pool! And the-." He blurted out, leaning forward to grab Pearl by the arms.

"We know." Pearl calmed him down, resting a hand on his leg. "After your fight with the guards, Bismuth used her hand to make an evasive. The impact caused the pool to break and the essence went down the drain."

Steven was still in distrust. "But the Cluster-."

"Is no more." This time, Pearl didn't answer.

A big blue figure with rainbow hair and tattoos stepped through the door-way into the van, smiling at him. "Hey ya, meatball."

"Bismuth." Steven gasped in surprise as he watched her walk over and sit on the floor beside him.

"Bismuth carried you to the escape-pod when you were un-conscious." Pearl explained, resting a hand on the bigger gem's shoulder. When a sad expression covered her face. "Crazy Lace, Biggs and Snowflake didn't make it." She looked down in respect.

Bismuth looked away painfully.

"They-?" Steven began but was interrupted.

"They weren't shattered, thank goodness." Pearl sighed.

"The escape-pod wasn't build for more than five gems at one time." Garnet continued explaining, crouched down before him. "Crazy Lace and Biggs had already been poofed by the guards. And Snowflake took the noble choice and pushed Bismuth into the escape-pod before it closed. She was a real hero." She nodded proudly.

"She shouldn't have done that." Bismuth muttered bitterly. "We were supposed to do it together. Not..." A few tears ran down her cheeks.

Garnet rest a hand on support on her back. "Crazy Lace and Biggs are clever gems. As long as they don't get any shots, they should be fine." She told her. "And Snowflake will probably loose her duty as a guard. But she'll have Crazy Lace and Biggs."

Bismuth looked back at her and cried. "I lost the little guy too..."

"There was nothing you could have done." Garnet told her supprtingly. "Lapis will be fine."

"So Lapis is inside the facility now too?" Steven asked.

The gems nodded.

Steven looked down sadly. "Poor Lapis..." He then looked up at them again. "What are we gonna do now?" He asked them all.

"We'll be on the rode until we find a place to stay." Greg answered his question with a faint smile, still nervously holding the syringe in his hand.

"Yes. We are as you remember no longer allowed in Beach City." Pearl reminded him.

"Or Florida." Amethyst chuckled.

"Right." Pearl nodded. "But we'll make sure we find us a new place. For all six of us."

Amethyst bumped her elbow into Bismuth's arm. Bismuth grinned as a reply.

Steven smiled.  
\-------------------  
Later that day, Steven was sitting outside on the grass beside the van, holding a phone to his ear.

"- and my dad catched up with them." Steven ended his explanation of the previous event.

"Wow..." Connie spoke from the other line.

"You okay?" Steven asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine but... are you okay?"

"Well, yeah." Steven shrugged. "I mean, I'm not hurt or anything." He said.

"So there are actually more gems out there?"

"Yeah! Tons! Some of them are bad but... they're mostly good... I think." Steven said. "It was really scary, though. All these gems trying to grab me and 'poof' me and all." For a second he grimased.

"Have you talked to the gems about it?"

"No, not really. I just feel that-."

"Steven, I really gotta go right now. My mom's taking me to tennis-practice and she doesn't take a no for an answer! I'll call you later! Bye!"

The line broke and Steven removed his phone.

He sighed and put it in his pocket before looking up.

It was so odd. After all that just happened, everyone acted so normal.

They were discussing their next direction with his father. Just like nothing ever happened.

But he still saw that not everything looked as it should.

He shut his eyes and leaned against the van.

He slowly disappearred in total darkness.  
\-------------------  
When he opened his eyes, he was floating in a an empty void.

Before him, stood five different kinds of statues.

Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, Greg and Bismuth.

And on top of their heads stood their own personas, played like a movie what they were doing in the moment.

Steven waved his arms, 'swimming' over to the first statue. Pearl.

He landed on her 'head' and watched her persona.

"What are we gonna do?" He could hear her speak her mind. Litterally. "Don't worry, Homeworld doesn't know we're Crystal Gems. They don't know where we are. I hope."

Steven watched her before he floated over to the next statue. Garnet

"It's not true. It's wrong." He could hear her thoughts say. "It must be wrong." She adjusted her visor.

Steven frowned and then floated over to Amethyst's statue.

"I won! I freakin' won! Heck yeah!" Her mind shouted. "By cheating..." She suddenly muttured.

At last he moved to his father's statue.

Greg looked worried.

"This is too much for Steven. He's just a kid. He shouldn't go through this." He thought loudly. "Rose would have put a stop to it."

Steven took a step back, looking hit and hurt.

When suddenly, he woke up to reality.

"Steven!" Greg shook his shoulder. "You fell asleep right by the van." He smiled. "How about we get something to eat?"

Steven nodded and stood up.

At sundown, Garnet was sitting in a hammock probably build up by the community to sit, watching the sunset in the distance.

She was in deep thought, as you could tell, with her hands tangled together.

Steven walked up next to her shyly.

"Hello Steven." She said as she smiled towards him warmly.

"Hi Garnet." Steven smiled back at her. "How's it hanging?"

Garnet smiled a bit wider. "I think I need to ask you the same thing. You look a bit 'not' well." She spoke.

Steven gave a small chuckle, shrugging. "Heh, well... I guess lately I've been feeling a bit...blue." He scratched the back of his head.

"It's okay." Garnet replied back, sitting up a bit straighter. "Join me. Tell my why you're feeling "blue."

She sat back and Steven jumped up at the other end of the hammock, looking a little bit scared as it swayed.

But soon he sighed.

"Have you ever felt, you know, that something can get, like... abnormally normal?" He asked her.

Garnet's mouth turned into an 'o'.

"I mean-." Steven began again, trying to figure out what to say. "Has something ever happened to you, that makes you feel like you need to act normal, but it kind of gets... too normal?"

Garnet was quiet for a few moments. "You're saying we act like nothing happened, even though it did." She stated.

"Yes! That!" Steven shone up. "I mean, I know you guys don't want me to worry or anything but-."

"Hey guys! How's it hanging?" Amethyst suddenly asked with a sheepishly smile as she, along with Pearl and Greg joined them.

"Oh Amethyst." Pearl rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

Amethyst giggled. "Admit it. You thought i it was funny!"

Pearl rolled her eyes again, but then smiled sheepishly. "Well, I have to admit it was the beginning of the pleased secreting of...fun."

Amethyst made a 'yes!' Motion with her fist but then turned back to Steven again.

"Is something the matter?" Pearl asked.

"Steven's upset." Garnet responded.

"Well, I'm not really upset. I just..." Steven tried to reason but then saw all the gazes of the gems and his dad.

"He says we act ''too normal'." Garnet added.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amethyst asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Steven, it's okay. You can tell us." Greg told him fatherly. "Tell us what's on your mind."

Steven felt himself sinking into the hammock. "I...there's nothing... I..." He then sighed heavily.

"Steven." Greg told him, sounding a little bit more stricter.

"Do you wish that that mom was here instead of me?!" Steven suddenly cried and dug his face inside his arms.

Nobody didn't really gasp, they were more taken aback by the question.

"Oh, Steven. Come here." Garnet sighed, offering her arms. Steven sobbed and dried a few tears away as he crawled over into her grasp and rest his body against her stomach as she wrapped her arms around him.

Pearl and Amethyst crawled up into the hammock and Greg just moved closer to them.

"Steven. What in the world made you think that?" Pearl almost gasped in worry.

"I heard dad think so." Steven sobbed into Garnet's chest.

The gems looked at Greg.

"Steven- I never, have you been-." Greg stuttered, still taken aback. He calmed down. "Steven. I would never think so." He told him in a hushed tone.

"But you're right!" Steven sobbed. "If mom was here she could have stopped it! She could have stopped the gems getting here, and taking Garnet away, and keep Biggs, Crazy Lace and Snowflake from being poofed on some zoo..." He said through sobs. "If mom just didn't disappear... maybe everything would be okay."

"Hey, Steven. It's okay. Shh." Greg hushed him, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Yes, everything isn't 'okay' right now, but we shouldn't stay in the deep because of that." Pearl told him.

"And we would never trade you for anything." Garnet told him as well.

Steven looked up, face all red from tears. "Really?"

They all nodded.

"No way, dude!" Amethyst told him. "Hey- Ste-man. If Rose decided to have you even though she knew she could die from it, that, like,... means you really had to be worth drying for."

Steven looked at her for a long time before he sat up, drying the tears away from his face.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked a bit worried.

"Oh, Steven. Of course we're not mad at you." Pearl sighed and clapped her hands together.

"Yeah dude, and even if we were furious we'd forgive you." Amethyst simply shrugged. "Or ground you for a few thousand years."

"Amethyst!" Pearl scolded at her, but then sighed. "It's true though. You have been in lots of trouble lately, young man. "But it's not exactly polite spying on our thoughts like that." She crossed her arms.

Steven laughed with a sob. "Sorry..."

"Stu-ball, the universe wouldn't be the same without you." Greg told him with a smile.

"Scratch that." Garnet cut in, smiling. "Nothing would be the same. Because you ARE our universe." She reached to take off her visor so that he could look into her three, mis-matched eyes.

Steven smiled, eyes filled with tears of joy.

"Come on, dude! Bring it in!" Amethyst hugged him tightly. And not long after, everyone went in for a hug.

And the episode ended happily ever-

"Wait-." Greg suddenly cut in in thought. "How many people can this hammock really carry?" He asked.

They all could only think about it for about five seconds until the hammock started to creak and no one had time to escape before they all laid on the ground, laughing and groaning.

"I love you guys." Steven laughed.

"We love you Steven." Everyone said in unison.


	12. Chapter 12

It was about 10.00 in the morning.

It had been four weeks since the incident with the Morganite facility, and group had stopped by for a couple nights by a motel called: Shell Town Motel' and were right now standing by the van at the motel's parking-lot.

They had just gotten home from grocery-shopping, told by the two bags beside the van.

Everyone looked quite confused, at the worst, worried.

Garnet was sitting on the floor on the back of Greg's van, feet on the ground. She looked a bit dizzy, but apart from that, okay.

Pearl watched her. "I just don't get what could cause all these black-outs." She said a bit frustrated, hand on her chin.

Amethyst just shrugged and threw a burrito into her mouth and swallowed it whole.

"Maybe she's sick?" Steven suggested, sitting on the van's floor with his feet dangling over the side.

"Gems can't get sick, Steven." Pearl corrected him.

"Speak for yourself." Amethyst shuddered, all green in the face and holding her stomach. "Ughh, that burrito did not work well with those cans of old tuna I ate earlier." She burped loudly, letting out a green cloud of breath.

"Amethyst! Those containers has been filled over the limit ever since we got here!" Pearl exclaimed. She then sighed in annoyance. "Besides, no doctor would ever accept to take in a being from outer space." She crossed her arms.

"Maybe we should ask to stay a few more days before we get back on the road." Greg suggested, sitting on the ground before them.

"Out of the question." Garnet grunted. "I'm alright."

"You heard the boss, Gregory." Amethyst shrugged, standing up, still green in the face, before burping again.

Though it was hard to see any reaction of Garnet at all, Steven could still see a tense expression on her face.  
\-----------------------------  
Later that day, about early afternoon, Steven was laying on one of the beds of their small motel-room.

He laid on his back, swiping through pictures on his phone.

He just laid amused as he watched through all the posts from all his friends in Beach City.

Sour Cream had been a DJ on a concert, Mr. Smiley had found a working partner with his old friend.

He sighed and continued scrolling.

Sadie and Lars had made a brand new donut, and there was a memory-picture from one year ago with Ronaldo holding hands with a young woman, both holding a sign which said 'Bye Beach City. Hello Shell Town hospital!'.

"Huh?" Steven then noticed how the woman beside Ronaldo was wearing a doctors-robe, probably just for show. "W-w-what?!" Steven exclaimed, scrolling up to see the text above.

'Ronaldo Fryman with Vera Mable.'

He quickly stood up and rushed out of the room. "GUUYYS!"  
\-------------------------------  
The next thing Garnet knew, she was sitting in the backseat in Greg's van, on her way to the hospital. Where she just sat cross- armed and looking at nothing with a soft frown on her face.

"Stupid battle of will." She muttered quietly to herself, nervously tapping her fingers against her shoulder.

They parked on the hospital parking-lot and were soon walking in the halls of the hospital, Steven and Greg first, Garnet last.

Greg crouched down to Steven's level. "Hey, Stu-ball. No offense to the gems or anything, but what doctor would agree to take gems as patients?" He asked him in a soft whisper.

"She used to be in a relationship with Ronaldo." Steven answered.

"There we go..." Greg mumbled in realization as they continued walking.

Garnet was not in a good mood the whole time.

Soon they were sitting in a room, Garnet sitting cross-armed on the bed and Steven and Greg standing by.

When at last, a woman opened the door and walked inside.

"Good day. My name is Dr. Mable." She introduced herself as she walked inside, looking at her papers and holding a cup of coffee.

She wasn't that tall, but she had a healthy body with some meat on her bones. Her skin was light and her hair caramel, all tied up in a very messy bun which caused hair sticking out from all sides of her head. Her eyes were green and her face was decorated with a pair of big, round glasses.

She smiled towards the boy before her.

"You must be Steven." She said as she shook his hand. "Ronaldo used to tell me so much about you and your family."

"The gems?" Steven asked intrigued.

"Yes!" Dr. Mable grinned. "That your family really are aliens from space, who burst through the ground all to serve under the Universal apocalyptic era, and that they all are named after gemstones, which are the cores of your light-bonded beings!"

"Wow! You sure know a lot about us!" Steven stuttered, quite uncomfortable. "I might have to update Ronaldo on our history, but the rest sounded right." He then mumbled. "So you're not upset that we're actually aliens?" He asked to make sure.

"I have watched too many Anime series and horror movies to get surprised of anything anymore." Dr. Mable chuckled as she turned around and picked up a note plate from the desk.

"So. You have been troubled with sudden black-outs?" She said as she sat down before Garnet, throwing one leg over the other. "How long has this been going on?"

Garnet thought for a moment. "Four weeks." She replied plainly.

"Four weeks." Dr. Mable wrote it down. "Any other symptoms? Fever? Maybe?"

"Gems don't really get sick." Steven explained. "Except food-poisoning, though."

"I see." Vera nodded and stood up. "Let's start with a random standard examination and go from there."

And so, during the next hour, Dr. Mable examined Garnet in every way she could.

She tried her reflexes for a reaction, using her tool to gently tab Garnet above the knee.

There was absolutely no reaction whatsoever. Not even a little.

The doctor frowned, trying once more. Nothing.

She looked up at Garnet in question, who simply shrugged with an unknowing hum.

Later on, it was time for the eyes and she had asked Garnet to remove her visor. But the second she revealed her three eyes looking at her, she fainted. Nothing surprised her, huh?

But after she recovered, she shone a light into all three of her eyes. No reaction whatsoever. If not, her third eye was a bit sensitive for the light so it made it a bit difficult to do the examination.

She examined her mouth, placing a wooden stick on her tongue and shone a light inside. Nothing.

At one time, she was about to examine her ears. But it was quite difficult because of Garnet's thick hair.

She tried to dig inside the hair, searching for ears, she looked about, she climbed, one time she even tried cutting the hair with a scissor but it broke in half.

At last, she had tried pulling the hair back but only ended up loosing grip and fell to the ground.

Dr. Mable looked at her frustrated, as if she asked herself if she even had ears?!

Garnet just simply shrugged with an unknowing hum.

She tried to check her blood-pressure with one of those things you wrap around the arm. But no matter how much she tightened the tool around the arm, nothing was shown.

She tried to check her height, but she was so insecure if the hair would count or not. She tried to push it down, but it stayed where it was.

By this point Dr. Mable had failed so many times because of her strange body she decided to do a X-ray of her arm, as if to see if she even had bones. Which was right, because the only thing seen on the picture was a gem.

And by this time, Dr. Mable had grown crazy of the result and teared a few papers in half, her hair all messy as if she was going crazy.

At last, almost two hours later, she sat down exhaustedly in her chair, tired and frustrated.

She sighed heavily, taking off her glasses and cleaning them with the lower part of her shirt.

"No reflexes. Three eyes. Possibly no ears. Definitely NO bones..." She sighed as she replaced her glasses.

Steven smiled nervously as he stepped over and handed her a cup of coffee.

"Yeah. It's weird sometimes." He chuckled.

"This is even weirder than CSS. Complete Silver Sorcery." The doctor took a sip of her coffee, looking up at Garnet sitting on the table in thought.

"Explain her symptoms again to me, please." She sighed, grabbing a note plate and a pen.

"Well..." Steven began insecure. "Nothing more than black-outs. Suddenly she just-." With his hand, he made a falling gesture.

Vera hummed. "My first guess would be low blood pressure. But she doesn't have any to begin with." She thought loud, staring up at the ceiling. "Could be seizures too, but I bet she doesn't have a brain either." She mumbled. Immediately, she apologized to the gem in front of her. "No offence."

"Not taken." Garnet mumbled.

The doctor then looked over her notes. Her eyes went from top to bottom, watching all the crossed examinations until she had reached the last word at the bottom. She tapped it with her pen. "The last thing we can do is to check her heart-beat and pulse. But considering the circumstances..."

"Hey. Don't beat yourself up." Steven tried to calm her. He and Greg had for the past two hours sat outside on one of the benches. "Let's give it a try and if you can't do anything, we'll just try something else." He shrugged.

Vera looked at him before standing with a deep sigh.  
\------------------------------

A few moments later.

"Here goes nothing." She mumbled as she put the plugs in her ears.

"This could be a bit cold." She warned and placed the diaphragm of the stethoscope against Garnet's chest.

She listened for a while, moved it, changed sides. She frowned. "No heart-beat." She confirmed as she grabbed her notes and wrote it down. "That explains the blood-pressure."

She then grabbed Garnet's right hand and put the diaphragm against her gem. All she heard was an odd, metallic sound coming from it. She lifted the piece and the sound stopped, she replaced it and it returned. "That's interesting." She hummed.

She tried the same thing with her left hand. Same result. She hummed intrigued and wrote it down.

Moments later she was placing diaphragm between Garnet's shoulder blades.

"Now. Breathe in." Garnet inhaled. "Breathe out." Garnet did as she was told.

They repeated the process for a few minutes as Dr. Mable moved the diaphragm lower and lower down her spine. Which she didn't have. Until a a familiar sound caught her attention.

"Hm?" She hummed, removing the piece. The sound disappeared. She replaced it, it came back, she removed it, it disappeared. It was similar to what she had heard earlier, but it was way, way fainter.

"Garnet. Could you please lift your arms out?" She begged and instructed her to stretch her arms to the sides.

Again, she replaced the piece against her lower back, where her stomach would be, and the sound returned. Only very faint.

She took off the stethoscope and flew up to her feet. "Wait here a second." She told her before exiting the room.

Garnet watched her leave before looking down as her hands twitched.  
\-------------------------------------  
Meanwhile, Steven and Greg sat outside. Greg was half asleep and Steven played with his hands.

Steven worriedly picked his phone up. 18.42. He sighed and put it back in his pocket. "I hope she's okay." He muttered.

Greg woke up slightly and wrapped his arm around his son. "Of course she is. She's Garnet. I saw her get hit by a car once and she didn't even notice." He chuckled.

Steven smiled as well before Dr. Mabel opened the door.

"Mr. Universe. Could I borrow you for a moment?" She asked.

Greg sat up in surprise. "Uh, sure." He turned to his son. "Hey, Stu-ball. Do you remember those baguettes with salad and that yellow goo with chicken, we used to eat when you were little?"

Steven's pupils turned into stars. "You mean The Chicken Majesty Combo?" He asked.

"Yeah. Why don't you go see if they have one in the cafeteria? I'll be right back." Greg then stood up.

Steven saluted him before running off down the hallway.

"Is something wrong?" Greg asked before they entered the room.

"It just would be nice to talk to someone who I'm sure of has a brain." Dr. Mable said, a bit frustrated as she shut the door behind them.  
\-------------------------------------  
One moment later.

"First. Listen here." She put the diaphragm against her gem. He heard the sound. "And now listen here." She removed the piece to her stomach instead. Same sound, but fainter. Not as faint as from the back, but still.

"It's sounds the same." Greg said.

"Exactly." Vera nodded.  
\----------------------------------  
Meanwhile, Steven was strolling down the hallway. Though, he wasn't that comfortable.

Maybe half of all the lamps hanging in the ceiling was glitching. The rest of the hallway seemed rather dark still.

He passed doctors and nurses every now and then, and sometimes visitors and patients.

"They better fix the lamps here soon. Yesterday I almost tripped over a kid." A female nurse said to her companion as they passed them.

The silence and the whole atmosphere of the hospital freaked him out.

"Don't be silly, Steven. Hospitals aren't scary." He told himself. "They are just a place where they help people get well, that just happens to have electrical problems."

He heard an odd sound and he gasped and started walking faster.

One after one the room passed him. Until one of them caught his eye.

It was a small room with one bed. And in that bed, laid an old man. Skinny, gray-haired and all wrinkly in the face, tied to tubes and one of those things they use to help people breathe covering his mouth and nose. He was breathing slowly, clearly asleep.

A dark-haired nurse suddenly passed Steven, walking in and started fixing with the machines beside him.

"Um... excuse me..." Steven squeaked shyly. "If I may ask, why is he in here?" He asked.

The nurse turned around to look at him. "He's in a coma." She explained.

"What's that?" Steven asked.

"It's a condition, often caused by physical or internal trauma." The nurse explained as she moved the quilt higher up on the elderly man's chest. "Mr. Sanders hasn't been awake for two years."

"That's so sad." Steven sighed, feeling bad.

"It is." The nurse nodded. "I don't blame him though. In my years I've worked here, not a single person has ever visited him." She sat down on the bed-side and nodded to the emptiness around the patient.

No flowers, no get well-cards. Nothing.

Steven watched sadly.

When suddenly, there was an odd sound coming from somewhere in the room. The nurse frowned. "Those dang mice! I've told them to call in the pest control but nobody ever listens to me." She hissed with a heavy sigh. She stood up and closed the door behind her. "Did you need help with anything?" She asked Steven.

"No. No. I'm fine. I'm- gonna go." He said and started walking again.

The nurse watched him leave. And then, she just shrugged and walked away. "Weird kid."  
\-----------------------------------  
"Alright. This is a picture of a homo sapiens." Dr. Mable explained, gesturing to a picture of a human skeleton. She then changed to another picture, an empty one with two gems on each side. "This is the picture we took of Garnet." She explained.

"Like the first picture we took of Garnet's arm, it has no bone-structure at all." She changed to the picture of Garnet's arm. "But this is what braffles me." She changed the picture back and with the pointing-stick, pointed it at a place right in the middle of her abdomen, where there was another, circular gem.

Garnet immediately tensed.

Greg frowned in distrust. "Is that a-."

"That's a gem." Dr. Mable ended for him. "A complete, healthy gem."

The duo could just watch in distrust.

"I am quite positive it's not how 'gems' would put it-." Dr. Mable began. "But in human terms, we would describe it as..."

"Pregnant." Greg looked back at Garnet in distrust.

Garnet's visor hid a lot. But they could see she wasn't pleased with the news either. Her mouth was twisted in a grimace and she looked away, trying to progress.  
\------------------------------  
"Aww! They're closed?!" Steven exclaimed disappointedly. He had at last reached the cafeteria down at the end of the hall, and it was closed?! He sighed in annoyance and then started walking away down the way he came. "It would be nice with some fry-bits right now." He sighed dreamily. "Or Kofi's pizza, or a hot, delicious fresh donut from Sadie and Lars." He started drawling almost.

He picked his phone up and clicked himself to messages. No messages.

He sighed and replaced it in his pocket as he strolled down the hallway, passing the room with toilet stalls. "I wonder if any of them even misses me." He sighed. "I know Connie does but... don't they? Just a little bit?"

He passed a toy-machine. One of those you put a coin in and and then rotate a handle. And it started to rumble.

"Huh?" Steven stopped and looked at it. Nothing. He shrugged and then started walking again. And that's when it started to rumble again.

"Huh?!" This time, Steven stepped back and looked at it.

It shook and rumbled again.

Steven grimaced. "Hospitals aren't scary, you said Universe? It's a living toy-machine. Not scary, right?" He hissed to himself as he tip-toed over to the machine.

Inside the transparent plastic/glass, was a pile of balls with toys in. And one of them looked very familiar somehow. Maybe because of the blue gem on its forehead.

"A- a gem!" He gasped.

The little lizard-looking gem moved again around the balls.

"H-hang on! I'm gonna get you out of there!" Steven shouted, immediately digging in his pocket after his wallet. He picked it up, picking up a coin. "Aha!" He put in in and rotated the handle.

A ball rolled out and he caught it with his hand. He frowned. "Ahh! Not a toy!" He exclaimed and grabbed another coin and put in in.

Another toy.

Steven was starting to get mad. "No! No! No! I don't want a toy!" He grabbed the machine and started shaking it. "I! Don't! Want! A! Toy!" He shouted.

When suddenly, the hatch on the back opened and the balls just flooded out.

And so did the gem.

"There you are!" Steven sighed in relief.

As it turned out, it was quite big creature, almost the size of a really big lizard. It was green, but had no eyes. And at the back it had plates like a dinosaur.

It stumbled over the toy-balls and looked around nervously.

"Now. Don't be scared." Steven whispered as he slowly approached her. "If you calm down, I can take you to a friend and we can help you. Doesn't that sound good?" He asked kindly.

He reached his arm out and the corrupted gem hissed at him. But as his hand came too close, she hissed loudly and showed her teeth before she ran off in the halls,

And once she was out of sight, he could hear people scream.

"Oh boy…."  
\----------------------------  
"Ronaldo explained to me when I still lived in Beach City that gems's bodies reflects through their gemstones and that's where they get their energy from." Dr. Mable explained to them, using the pointing-stick to point at the picture. "He also told me that during a gem's growing state, it's sucking the energy out of the ground. With other words, what holds it."

"That would explain the sudden black-outs, if my hypothesis is correct." She continued. "I am sure the gem is already forming a physical form, only we can't see it on the X-ray." She them explained, making circular motions around the gem with her stick. She then put the stick together.

"Tell me, Garnet. Has anything out of the ordinary happened lately?" She turned towards her patient, holding her notes. "Something that we could assume is the cause of all this?"

Garnet looked down, thinking.

And from our point of view, we could see the memory reflecting through her visor of how she was back at the Morganite Facility, in the basement inside the Essence Chamber. And how one of the guards had punched her in the chest and made her fall into the essence-pool with a splash.

The reflection disappeared as she looked up again. "Yes." She answered plainly. "What an un-foreseen turn of events." Se said almost ironically as she rest back against the wall and crossed her arms.

"Wait, you knew?!" Greg exclaimed.

"It was a suspicion." Garnet corrected him, adjusting her visor. "I just for once wanted to prove my future vision wrong."

"Why didn't you tell any of us?!" Greg didn't exclaim, more a louder question.

"Because I wasn't sure myself." Garnet admitted honestly.

When suddenly, they heard screaming. Outside, dussins of people, nurses and visitors ran past the room. And following, was the corrupted gem. And not far behind her, ran Steven.

"Don't panic! She's just scared!" He shouted.

"Steven?" Greg raised an eyebrow.

"STEVEN!" Garnet shouted and ran out of the room.

"Wait! Your copy!" Vera shouted, waving with a small picture.

"I'll take it." Greg said as he grabbed it and put it in his pocket.

"No offense, but this has been the weirdest day of my life." Vera chuckled.

"Welcome to my world." Greg muttered and rushed outside. "I'm coming Steven!"  
\----------------------------  
Steven was running after the creature, but lost track of it.

Garnet approached him soon enough, gauntlets ready.

"The creature." She demanded.

"I don't know where it went!" Steven shrieked, looking about after her.

Soon they heard small, quick footsteps from their left.

"There!" Garnet shouted and they ran over.

Greg tried to keep up, panting and sweating heavily.

"Hey guys!" He panted. "Hang on a sec!"

Garnet and Steven ran down the hall until they had reached a dead end.

"Where did she go?!" Steven asked.

"We need to evacuate the hospital!" Garnet stated.

"No! Wait! Look!" He pointed forward.

There she was. The creature. She was hiding beneath a candy-machine.

But something wasn't quite right. She was hiding, and shaking. Like if she was afraid. Afraid of something around her.

"Huh?" Steven looked up. There was a lamp which was glitching from light to darkness within seconds.

"You're scared." Steven's eyes widened at the revelation. "You must have thought it was so scary, with all the lamps glitching on and off." He sat down on his knees. He slipped closer with a few inches. "It's okay. I think hospitals are scary too." He leaned his hand forward.

The creature stepped back.

"It's okay. Come on. You're safe with us." Steven smiled.

The creature sniffed his fingers.

"There! Not that scary, right? Come on out." Steven cheered.

The creature took a step out from under the machine.

When suddenly-

The light glitched from light to darkness.

She hissed and tried to bite Steven. But Garnet quickly grabbed him and pulled him back.

The sudden movement of the creature made the plates on her back jolt the machine around. To the point of it falling.

"NO!" Steven screamed.

But it was too late. The machine fell and the creature poofed, It's gem flying off to the side.

Steven quickly ran over and bubbled it and held it in his hands sadly.

"She wasn't dangerous." He sighed, holding her. Garnet rest a hand on his shoulder. "She was just scared. And needs company."

"I'm sorry, Steven." Garnet told him supprtingly.

When suddenly, Greg managed to keep up with them, completely out of breath. "You…you guys…o…okay?" He asked between heavy breaths.

"Yeah." Steven smiled back at him. "And I think I have an idea."  
\------------------------------  
Steven held the bubble above the desk.

"There you go." He whispered as he gently placed it on top of of the desk behind the bed. "Now you don't have to be scared anymore. Because now you have company." He stepped back to see better.

Garnet moved the blanket a bit higher on the old man's chest.

Now the old man wasn't alone anymore. He was from now on always have someone by his side. And so would she.

Greg entered the room, holding a bouquet of yellow flowers. Steven took them and put them in the vase on the desk.

Steven dried a tear away from his cheek. Greg laid an arm around him before they started walking.  
\------------------------------------  
At the way home, it was peace and quiet in the darkness. Greg drove, Garnet sat back in the backseat and Steven sat beside her.

"It was a good thing you did back there, Steven." Garnet told him, giving him a proud smile

"Yeah?" Steven smiled back. "I just thought that… even though the corrupted gems don't remember who they used to be…. They're still gems. Right?"

Garnet smiled again. "That's right."

Steven jumped closer to her and rest his head against her thigh. Garnet rest a hand on his back.

"You remind me so much of your mother." Garnet told him lowly. "She always saw other gems as equals, not strangers."

"Yeah?" Steven smiled tiredly. "Well, what would life be if we always are strangers to each-other? Just charing life should be what keeps us together."

"And giving life to you, must have been a light on the way." Garnet ruffled his head. And they fell silent.

After what felt like hours, Greg looked back at them through the mirror.

Steven was loud asleep in Garnet's lap. Garnet herself was staring out the window. But he couldn't help but notice the tear running down her cheek.


	13. Chapter 13

It was dark night-time.

The group was driving on a gravel road in a wooden area.

Pearl for once was driving, Garnet beside her while Greg, Steven and Amethyst slept in the back-seat. Bismuth sat in the luggage, trying to make sence of one of Steven's games.

When suddenly, something big slammed right into the van.

Everyone woke and and let out a scream, Bismuth flew from one wall to another and Pearl quickly tried to drive out of the way but ended up sliding side-ways before the van stood still.

"What the heck was that?!" Steven exclaimed, leaning out the window in a try to find the cause.

Meanwhile, Pearl tried to turn the engine back on. It made a weird noise at first, but nothing happened.

She sighed heavily. "The engine's dead."

"No!/ Aw man!" The inhabits of the car complained.

"Better go check how bad it is." Greg said as he removed his belt and stepped out the car.

"Good idea." Pearl agreed and stepped out as well.

Soon, everyone had stepped outside to see the damage of the car.

They were not pleased.

"Not good." Greg muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

The whole front of the car had been crushed back and one of the wheels had fallen off and laid next to it. One of the headlights was shattered and the hood was buckled up.

"Indeed." Pearl agreed, crossing her arms. Her gem was light up as a light, just like Garnet, Amethyst and Bismuth's.

"You think you can fix it?" Greg asked her.

"Please, I used to fix highly advanced spaceships back in my day." Pearl scoffed proudly. "Though, it's gonna take some time." She then noticed the oil running out beneath the van. "And we'll not be on our way until we've found fuel, either."

"You don't think you can magically summon a tank of fuel from your gem, right?" Greg chuckled.

"Hmm. Let me check." Pearl hummed as she dug her hand inside her gem. One after one she pulled out things. A violin, a cushion, a bike, an iron etc etc. "I'm afraid not." She apologized.

"I'm gonna see if there's a gas station nearby." Steven said as he picked out his phone. "Oh, here we have one!" He pressed the site. "And it's... five miles from here." He sighed heavily.

Everyone sighed.

"We better go check and look for the animal that crashed into us. If it's injured we have to help it." Garnet ordered before walking off to the other side of the road.

"My bars disappearred." Steven announced, looking at his phone.

"That means we have to push the van to the gas station." Greg put his hands on his waist.

"No problem." Bismuth grinned, pretending to pull up her 'sleeves'.

"Gems!" Garnet called from the other side of the road.

The gems and Greg rushed over to where Garnet was crouched down at the edge of the road.

"What is it?" Amethyst asked.

Garnet pointed towards a few foot-prints on the ground. They reminded alot of very big bird-prints. Only much bigger.

"Those are not from any earth-animal." Pearl shook her head. "Could it be a gem?"

"Just my thought." Garnet nodded.

She stood up and turned towards the group. "Steven, you stay here with Greg and Bismuth. Try to push the van to the gas-station. Me, Pearl and Amethyst will go out looking for the gem." She turned towards the gems.

Pearl and Amethyst nodded.

"You sure you'll be okay on your own?" Steven asked.

"We'll be fine, Steven." Garnet nodded.

Greg took a step forward. "Garnet, I don't wanna step on your toes or anything, but should you-." He could see his reflection in Garnet's visor as she turned towards him, and he silenced. "Uh, never mind." He blushed.

"Gems. Let's go!" Garnet summoned her gauntlets and Pearl and Amethyst summoned their weapons. They soon dashed into the woods.

They left the group of four in the middle of the road, looking at each-other uncertain.  
\-------------------------------  
Soon, they were on their way pushing the van along the road.

It was a bit difficult, considering the circumstances that the front was all twisted and one wheel was off. But it was nothing compared to Bismuth, who pushed it with ease.

"Just keep pushing. Just keep pushing. Just keep pushing." Steven sang as they pushed the van.

"Yes, Steven. We get it. We're pushing." Bismuth told him in slight annoyance as they pushed.

"But you're making a a good job keeping us going." Greg smiled, sweating in exhaustion.

"What do you think did this?" Steven asked.

"I don't know, Steven." Greg grunted. "Probably something big."

"I bet it was a giant... foot." Steven hummed.

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't a giant foot." Bismuth told him with a chuckle.

They continued walking for a few more minutes before Greg suddenly stopped, gasping for air.

"Hang on! I just need a second!" He breathed heavily, all wet from sweat. "Man, I should really hit the gym..."

"You okay, big meatball?" Bismuth asked Greg, crossing her arms.

"Just give me a second!" Greg gasped for breath, bending forward. "Maybe a bucket..."  
\-----------------------------  
Meanwhile, deep in the woods, the Crystal gem were on their look-out after the corrupted gem.

"It should be around here somewhere. My future isn't certain, but it shouldn't be far away from the road." Garnet stated, adjusting her visor, her gauntlets ready in hands.

"It still can't be that close. A creature of that size shouldn't be that quiet." Pearl added from behind her leader, holding her spear.

Amethyst was in the back, walking behind all bored.

"Ugh, this is so boring. Nothing happens." She whined.

"It's not supposed to be funny, Amethyst." Pearl told her in a hushed tone.

Amethyst rolled her eyes and kicked a rock on the ground. "So, uh, G." She began. "What was your deal?" She suddenly asked.

Garnet stopped in her tracks, turning her head. "Your question is a bit un-clear." She said.

"Oh, you know. The black-outs, the hospital." Amethyst said, crossing her arms as she walked up next to her. "Something you feel you need to tell us about?" She asked.

"Nope." Garnet responded as she continued forward.

Amethyst was taken aback by the answer and then rushed to her side, walking alongside her.

"Come on! Something happened at the facility! Admit it!" She argued.

"Amethyst! That's none of your business!" Pearl scolded at her, walking behind them.

"We are out of the facility." Garnet began speaking. "'What', and 'if' anything happened back there, it's not important."

"Yeah right." Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Just something 'bad' enough for you to try and bail from that creepy place." She scoffed.

"Your reaction towards it is a little bit off scetule." Garnet muttered.

"My reaction is great!" Amethyst shouted.

"Amethyst. Keep your voice down." Garnet hissed at her, stopping in her tracks and looked up, as if searching for anything nearby. "The creature."

"No way! I don't care if the whole galaxy hears this!" Amethyst yelled at her. "You said you were under surveillance. Why?"

Garnet had turned towards her. "I..." She stammered, but stopped and grit her teeth. But then, she calmed down and found her 'cool' again. "It's none of your business.."

Amethyst's eye had almost started twitching. "What?!"

"Amethyst, be quiet. You're making yourself ridiculous." Garnet hissed, crossing her arms.

"Ridiculous?!" Amethyst exploded with anger. "First you're gone for three days, then when we come to get you, you run away for no reason-!" Garnet grit her teeth. "Then tell me! How am I the ridiculous one?!" She shouted.

For that, Garnet had no response. She looked down and then turned on her heels to walk away.

And this only aggravated Amethyst more. Her gem started glowing and she picked out her weapon. "I am not ridiculous!"

This time, Amethyst swung her whips back so that they grabbed one big rock.

"So why don't you just SHUT UP!" She swung her one whip, and it waved in the air and she launched the rock.

It flew towards Garnet. She lifted her gauntlets to block the rock, but it ended up with her slipping backwards a few feet, making two craters after her feet in the ground. She slammed the rock back with incredible power, shooting it back at Amethyst.

Amethyst jumped over it and when she landed, she summoned another whip mi-air and flung it around Garnet's leg, pulling until Garnet fell to her back. Amethyst swung the second rock at her.

Pearl stood by, too scared to step in.

Garnet had only now come up to her feet.

Amethyst glared in anger at her when-

Garnet held up her gauntlet, but instead of slamming or hitting the rock, she was holding one hand forward as if to shield herself.

"Don't hurt her!" She roared out. But this time, in both anger and frustration.

"Huh?" Amethyst did barely have time to react when she bend her arms and pulled the rock back and launched it another direction until it crashed into a buskage.

This time, Pearl had stepped forward to watch the scene. And the both of them watched the fusion bend over slightly.

Garnet protectively wrapped an armored arm around her waist.

Pearl and Amethyst's eyes widened to confused distrust.

"You said what now?" Amethyst asked, grimacing.  
\---------------------------  
Meanwhile, back at the road, Bismuth, Greg and Steven still pushed the van.

Only this time, Greg sat in the front-seat while Steven and Bismuth pushed.

"You're doing great guys!" Greg called out, sticking his head out the window.

"So... what used to be your work?" Steven asked the bismuth.

"Huh?"

"You know, work. My dad used to own a car- wash. But he had to shut it down when we moved." Steven explained. "What was yours?"

Bismuth frowned. "I was a builder for the elites." She answered his question.

"Oh yeah? That sounds cool."

"It wasn't cool." Bismuth muttered. "I was made for it, and I was good at it. But I didn't enjoy it." She told him. "When I was supposed to join the Crystal Gems, I was supposed to become a blacksmith. Can you believe that? A blacksmith!" She laughed in joy of the memory. "But... I guess it never happened."

Steven watcher her sadly.

"It was your 'mom' who told me I could be that." Bismuth smiled down at him. "She was the one who told me I could become whatever I wanted. And I chose that."

"The gems don't talk that much about my mom, but I think that's just because it's hard for them, you know?" Steven began speaking. "My mom fought with them for thousands of years. And one day, I was there instead."

Bismuth smiled. "Then I guess that was a good case of 'give ten knives away, get twenty knives back." She winked at him with one eye.

Steven smiled back at her.

When suddenly, the car launched forward, making them both fall forward and slam against the ground.

"Hey!" Bismuth shouted.

"Dad! What was that about?!" Steven shouted, spitting out some dirt.

"It wasn't me!" Greg shouted.

After some time, Steven joined him in the front-seat.

"What happened?" Steven asked him.

"I don't know! The car just... started all by itself!" Greg answered in complete confusion.

He put the key in and turned it.

The engine made some sounds but nothing happened.

"See? I have no idea what happened!" Greg said in confusion, running a hand through his hair.

When suddenly, the van hurled forward again, jolting everyone onboard.

"What was that?" Steven asked, holding his seat.

And then, the van hurled forward again, jolting them even more.

"Alright, this isn't even a little funny." Greg muttered.

When suddenly, the van hurled forward, only this time... it never stopped.

"Whoaoaaa!" The duo shouted as the van started rolling 30/h down the downhill.

Bismuth stood up, turning around and watching the van drive away from her.

"Hey! What about me?!" She shouted.

"Help!" Greg shouted.

Bismuth tensed. "I-I'm coming!" She shouted and started running after.

"Hit the breaks! Hit the breaks!" Steven shouted as they were driving away.

Greg pressed down on the breaks as hard as he could. But nothing happened.

"It's not working!" He shouted through gritted teeth.  
\--------------------------------  
Meanwhile, back in the woods with the gems, they were still looking for the monster.

Pearl accidentally walked into a puddle of goo. She frowned and lifted her foot up. "Ugh. Stupid earth-forest. I did not recall assigning to this when I promised to protect earth." She grunted in disgust, pulled off her shoe and threw it away, summoning a couple new, identical ones on her feet. "This place is starting to drive me crazy."

"Yeah, we don't need any more crazy heads here." Amethyst mumbled, pointing her thumb backwards over her shoulder.

Garnet frowned, although it wasn't seen behind her visor. "I am not crazy." She told her strictly.

"Yeah, crazy-heads always turns down their only way of escaping. It's all natural." Amethyst ironically rolled her eyes. "You can convince me that you're not crazy when you tell us the real reason you're acting weird."

"I'm not crazy. I'm pregnant!" Garnet didn't raise her voice, but the way she gritted her teeth made it clear that the conversation brought up the worse in her.

"No! You're not!" Amethyst turned around and yelled, almost laughing about how stupid it sounded coming from her. "How can I make it go through your thick hair?!"

"Amethyst, this is not the time-." Pearl stepped up beside her, trying to calm her down.

"Do you believe her?!" Amethyst burst out to the pale gem.

Pearl looked up at Garnet. Garnet just looked at her, no particular emotion shown. Pearl looked down, like in defeat.

"Tell me. How do you know?" Amethyst continued arguing. "Tell me how you, a gem, in all the universe, possibly think that you're pregnant?!"

"I-I just know." Garnet almost stammered, sweating slightly from the lack of answers.

"That's not an answer!" Amethyst squealed. "Did they, like, zap your head or something?!"

"Amethyst-." Garnet warned her through gritted teeth.

"Tell me!" Amethyst blurted, her eyes almost popping out of her eye-holes.

When suddenly, they heard screaming, sending them off-guard.

"Steven!" They gasped.

Garnet adjusted her visor, gazing into the future. "This way!" She ran off into one direction of the woods, Amethyst and Pearl not far behind.

The car was continuing to roll on it's own, now come up to rolling 60/h.

Greg and Steven was panicked inside, trying to do anything in their power to make it stop.

"Dad! What are we going to do?!" Steven shouted in terror.

"I don't know Stu-Ball! I've never driven a haunted car before!" Greg responded in panic, pressing all buttons, pulling all levers.

"We need to make it stop!" Steven shouted.

Greg's eyes widened. "Don't wish too much, son..."

Steven looked ahead.

They were heading right towards a ruin wall ar the end of the road.

A dead end.

Steven and Greg screamed, now even quicker trying to make the van stop.

They were approaching the wall even faster, the speed increased by the second.

Steven and Greg embraced each-other.

"I love dad!"

"I love you too son!"

When suddenly three familiar figures appeared at the end of the road.

"Steven! Greg!" They gasped.

"Pearl!" Garnet demanded, turning towards the gem.

The next thing they knew, they grabbed hands and legs of the smaller, purple gem.

Garnet held the legs, Pearl held the arms.

Amethyst's body glew up and began stretching as Pearl crossed the road to the other side.

Now there was a rope made out of Amethyst crossing the road.

"This is gonna hurt so bad, man." Amethyst whined.

The van drove right into the legs of Amethyst, and just like a sling-shot, it bounced back and fell hard to the ground on it's side.

"Steven! Greg!" Pearl and Garnet gasped, simply dropping Amethyst to the ground and rushed over to the van.

Pearl jumped up onto the van's side and opened the door, helping Steven and Greg up.

"See, Steven. This is why we use seat-belt." Greg spoke dizzily as he climbed out of the car.

The next thing they knew, Garnet and Bismuth pushed the van back to it's wheels.

"It drove all by itself?" Pearl asked in surprise.

"Yes! And it almost crashed us to a wall!" Greg exclaimed.

The engine was starting to give a sound, and the van started rolling.

But Garnet simply stopped it with one hand.

She frowned.

Pearl opened the hood and they all stood back with a gasp.

Inside was a creature, not bigger than really big dog, that looked like a really cute octopus. It was dark-blue and had some green spots here and there.

It was playing around around the engine.

"It lived inside the hood?" Pearl hummed.

"That explains the ghost-van." Garnet added as she bend down and picked the creature up by a tentacle, letting it dangle in her grip. "It must have slipped inside during the collision."

"But this can't be the creature that ran into the wall. This one doesn't have feet." Pearl gestured towards the gem's tentacles.

When suddenly, the corrupted gem began glowing.

Garnet grimaced and let the creature fall to the ground.

Within seconds, the octopus was replaced by a weird-looking bird with big feet and no eyes.

"Can corrupted gems shape-shift?" Steven asked in amazement.

"I guess so." Pearl hummed in thought.

The creature was starting to make a run for it, but Bismuth crushed it beneath her shape-shifted war-hammer.

The gem disappearred in a cloud of smoke and the blue gem fell to the ground.

Amethyst quickly ran over and bubbled it.

"Almost driving you to a wall was a complete accident. It had no eyes." Garnet stated plainly.

"Well, that's a relief that it didn't try to kill me on purpose." Greg shrugged ironically, still kind of traumatised by the previous event.

"We should not be far from the car-station. Let's move!" Garnet ordered and walked back to the gem. "Amethyst! Bubble that gem!" She ordered strictly as Bismuth and Steven joined her.

Amethyst rolled her eyes and send the bubble back to the temple, frowning deeply

"Did you guys walk on an emotional land-mine or something?" Greg asked her in confusion as Pearl walked up to them, feeling the tension.

"Ask Garnet." Amethyst shrugged, crossing her arms. "She started it." She rolled her eyes. "Talking 'bout being 'preggers' and comes up with stupid excuses and..." The next few words she just muttered to herself in annoyance.

Greg recognized this immediately. "Oh, geese..." He muttered, scratching the back of his back un-comfortably.

"Look, guys. I'm not really sure I should be the one doing this. But..." Inconsistently, he picked out his wallet and un-folded a piece of paper. He then handed the paper over to Pearl.

Pearl grabbed it and looked at it in confusion, Amethyst shape-shifting her legs to see the picture as well.

"What's this?" Pearl asked.

"It's the X-ray they made when we were at the hospital." Greg explained.

Pearl and Amethyst stared at the piece of paper for a long time, not really understanding what it meant.

"You should talk to her." Greg told them and the duo looked at Greg, looking at them.

As he left, he left Pearl and Amethyst trying to understand the picture he just had handed them, frowning deep in confusion.  
\-------------------------------------  
At dawn the next morning, they had finally reached the gas-station.

Steven was happily munching on a hot-dog, Bismuth had done a pretty good job slamming the front of the van back to normal.

Greg was filling the tank with a soft smile on his face, every now and then sharing a word with his son.

But every now and then he couldn't help but help but look a at the three gems having a violent discussion behind the parking-lot.

He couldn't hear them, but he could see their body-language.

Pearl flew her arms to the sides, her mouth probably implying she was speaking louder than just 'speak' tone.

Garnet crossed her arms and said something.

And this time, Amethyst stepped forward, looking angry and pointing an accusing finger towards the fusion as she seemed to be shouting at her.

Garnet wrapped her arms around herself. And the small tears running down her cheeks caused the anger of her team-mates to turn into worry.

If Greg's smile could get more invisible, it would.

Amethyst had by now stepped forward and hugged Garnet's thigh, the highest she could reach. Pearl's hands had met the fusion's shoulder and the other hand wiped away a tear with it's thumb.

Greg smiled.  
\-----------------------------  
Later that day at close dinner-time, the gems and humans had a blast singing to a song.

"Cam's Camshafts is the place to bring your wreck

Get your car repaired for cheap and fair-:"

Meanwhile, while Bismuth, Greg, Steven and Pearl sang that weird song, Amethyst took the time to un-buckle herself and leaned over to the passenger's seat.

"Sorry for... Sorry..." She mumbled to the tall gem to her right.

"Same here." Garnet responded, arms crossed.

-"Without risking your neck

Cam's Camshafts!"

Everyone ended the song with a big laugh.


	14. Chapter 14

They were still on the road.

For once, it was quite calm in the van, nobody really speaking or anything. Not even Amethyst had prank up her sleeve.

They soon passed a sign saying: Sea Town.

Greg shone up. "Holy moly, we're in Sea Town?" He blurted,

"You know this place, dad?" Steven asked, leaning over from the back-seat.

"Yeah! Me and my cousin used to be here every summer." Greg explained.

"You have a cousin?" Steven asked him surprised.

"Sure do." Greg smiled. "Andy, he..." He trailed off for a second. "He and I were best friends when we were younger."

"At the summers we used to visit our old' grandpa at his barn and had the time of our lives." He smiled. "He was the only father-figure we ever known."

"I never knew that." Steven smiled intrigued. "You never talk about your family."

Greg shrugged. "Meh, there's really not much to tell. When I decided to become a musician and went on the road with my manager, Marty, the family kind of just... separated."

"Why?" Steven asked.

"Nothing lasts forever, Stu-ball. Someday, the leaves most leave the tree, you know." Greg shrugged.

Steven tried to smile, but it became upside-down.  
\-------------------------  
They had stopped by a gas-station to get gas and stretch their legs.

Greg was filling the tank while the gems went inside the gas-station to get snacks.

It all ended with Amethyst walking outside with a mountain of chips-bags and Pearl holding a simple sponge in her hand.

"You guys got what we needed?" Greg asked as they approached him.

"Yup!" Amethyst shouted, throwing the mountain of chips-bags into the back-seat. "Got snacks to last a life-time."

"In your case, a butterfly's lifetime." Pearl muttered. "And I found this delightful sponge! I thought I'd give it to Steven because he loved to play with them so much when he was little." She sighed dreamily.

"Greaat." Amethyst muttered.

The next thing they knew, they sat inside the van and were about to drive off.

Greg started to slowly drive forward.

Pearl and Bismuth had a conversation back in the back-seat. Garnet sat in the front-seat as always and Bismuth in the luggage.

Amethyst grabbed e few packages of chips, put them between her hands and smashed them, making a loud exploding sound.

Greg immediately turned around by reflex, forgot about the road for four seconds before they heard a crashing sound.

He had driven right into the back of the car before him.

The door opened.

"Hey!" Someone shouted up front.

"Oh boy..." Greg muttered as he un-buckled his seat-belt.

There was a man, maybe in his late-forties or early fifties, standing at the end of his grey pickup-truck.

He wore a brown fur-jacket and a pilot's hat. He stood at the back of his truck, looking hysteric.

"Gahh! Who was the idiot who drove into me like that?!" He shouted angrily.

Greg opened his door and stepped outside. "Uh, are you okay? I'm really sorry." He said.

The man turned around, looking chocked. "Greg?"

Greg raised an eyebrow. "Andy?"

"They know each-other?" Pearl asked, looking at them through the back-seating.

"You were the one who drove into me?!" Andy asked angrily.

"I'm sorry, I got distracted and-." Greg tried to calm him down.

"Dad? Who's this?" Steven asked as he stepped out of the car on his side of the car.

"Dad?" Andy asked wide-eyed as Steven walked over to his father. "You mean- no way."

"Andy. This is Steven." Greg rest a hand on Steven's back. "He's my son."

Steven smiled widely and immediately walked forward. "Wow it's really nice to meet you!" He walked forward to the completely chocked man.

"It's okay, guys. There's someone I want you to meet!" Greg told the gems in the car.

"Yes boss!" Amethyst saluted him.

One after one they walked out of the van. Gems in different colors and sizes coming from the same van.

Andy just watched in confusion. "It's like a circus act..." He mumbled.

"Andy, these are the gems." Greg gestured towards the gems.

"Everyone. This is Andy." He said as he gestured his hands towards the man. "He's my cousin."

The reactions were different. It was mainly a mix of wonder and boredom.

"Ah, now I understand." Andy nodded and crossed his arms. "You drove off with a bunch of hippies. Guess I owe aunt Deb a hundred bucks." He muttered.

"Hippies?" Pearl hummed.

"Well!" Greg cut in, laughing nervously to slip away from the conversation. "What brings you here, Andy?"

"I live here." The older man said bitterly.

"Oh, so you-." Greg began.

"Yeah, I took over the barn." Andy answered before he managed to ask. "Somebody needs to keep the memories alive." He crossed his arms bitterly.

Greg was starting to feel the awkwardness. The gems too.

"Look, about the truck-." He began.

"Nah, don't worry about it. This ol' thing has gone through worse." Andy shrugged, patting the wreckage. "Listen..." He then began uncomfortably, rubbing his neck. "I do have the ol' family dining table at my place, if you would like to... you know."

Immediately, Greg started rubbing the back of his head un-comfortably. "Oh! That would be great, but we're kind of, you know-."

"Okay." Garnet suddenly spoke out of nowhere.

"What/huh?" The group looked at her in surprise.

Garnet crossed her arms. "I am NOT gonna stay one more night at this place. Greg snores." She continued, not noticing the cringing face of Greg before she walked over to the van, sat in the front-seat and shut the door behind her.

"Well then..." Greg said unsure. "I guess we'll go to Andy's place..."

"Yay! Family trip!" Steven cheered, arms up in the air and stars in his eyes.  
\--------------------------  
Soon, they were on the road. Again.

Greg drove as always, with Garnet beside him. Steven, Pearl and Amethyst were in the back-seat and Bismuth sat at the back of the van.

Andy drove ahead of him, showing the way.

He looked uncomfortable, everyone and then looking at the car behind in his mirror. He looked almost as uncomfortable as Greg, who tapped his fingers against the wheel.  
\--------------------------

They drove down a quite short avenue until they reached a gravel farm.

Greg parked behind Andy as he stopped.

"Whoa!" Steven gasped in awe as he and Greg stepped out of the car.

There was a house, a really big house. It was not really a mansion, but it could easily be mistaken for one.

It was white with black roof tiles and it had a huge back-yard filled with beautiful flower-beds.

At the opposite side of the gravel-farm stood a big barn.

It was big, and red and was in pretty good shape, considering the fact that it looked like no one had been in there for years.

The place was so confusing. It wasn't disrepaired, but it wasn't well taken care of either.

It was more... a proper mess.

Andy stepped out of his truck. "Well. This is it." He shrugged.

"It looks exactly like I remembered it!" Greg said in complete awe.

Andy chuckled. "Yeah, I tried to save the feeling of the place. I think I did a pretty good job." He shrugged.

"Have you been here before, dad?" Steven asked as he walked up next to him.

The gems started making their way out of the van.

"Steven! This was ol' grandpa's place!" Greg wrapped an arm around Steven and gestured towards the house.

Steven gasped. "Is this the place you and Uncle Andy used to hang out during the summers?" He asked in excitement.

"You bet! We used to come here every summer, have a good time, getting into trouble." Greg explained to him. "And dear ol' grandpa had such a hard time keeping the cops away." He dried a laugh-tear from the corner of his eye

"Yeah, until he flew the coop." Andy muttered bitterly. "And that was the end of the daring DeMayo brothers." He shrugged.

"What's a DeMayo?" Steven asked in confusion.

Andy looked down at him in chock. "Andy DeMayo. Greg DeMayo. Steven DeMayo. We're the DeMayos!" He explained.

"Uh..." Greg stuttered. "We're kind of... the Universes now..." He smiled nervously.

Something snapped inside Andy. "Wh-wha- you changed the family name?!" He shouted.

"Are you saying... that Universe is not a real last name?!" Steven gasped in chock.

"It is too!" Greg told him.

Meanwhile, the gems watched them back by the van.

"Should we do something?" Pearl whispered.

Amethyst just giggled. "It's looks like Greg's fighting an older mirror." She laughed, munching on a bag of chips. "I kind of like it."

"Shh." Garnet hushed them, leaned against the van.

"Hey, Andy. Must we do this now?" Greg tried to turn the situation around, referring to the boy beside him. "How about we get some dinner started?"

Andy frowned. "Yeah, why not." He shrugged and gave a skeptical glance towards the funny-colored gems. "I better go get some vegetables." He muttered and turned to walk inside his house. "Darn hippies..." He shut the doors behind him.

The gems walked up to the two humans and stared at the house.

"Well, that went pretty well, right dad?" Steven asked happily.

Greg gave him a skeptical glance.  
\--------------------------

The next thing they knew, Andy was standing by the sink, pealing potatoes.

His house was rather cozy. It was mainly wooden, with wooden walls and wooden furnitures. There were some pictures here and there and miniature figures of old planes on the shelves.

Steven and Greg helped cutting the vegetables on the table in the kitchen.

"Hey, dude. Where are we supposed to put the table?" Amethyst suddenly asked as she walked inside the kitchen.

"Uh, you can go ahead and put it in the porch." Andy answered her question, looking quite confused actually.

"Hey G! The porch!" Amethyst shouted and walked into the other room.

Andy dried his hans off on his pants and walked to the door-way to the next room.

Garnet grabbed the huge mahogany table and lifted it above her her head with a soft grunt, carrying like it was nothing out the glass-door.

"Uh... your aunt... she's pretty strong, eh?" Andy stuttered.

"She works out." Steven smiled.

"Yeah, I bet." Andy said, fearing his life for the glass-door to the outside.  
\--------------------------

In the next scene, they were sitting around the table on the porch, table decorated with all kinds of food.

Andy looked at the gems oddly as he ate. "Aren't you ladies gonna eat? You don't like potatoes?" He asked, mouth-full.

"Gems really don't need to eat." Steven explained. "Except for Amethyst."

As if one cue, Amethyst pushed a whole corn into her mouth, widening her cheeks.

Steven hummed in pleasure as he put the fork into his mouth. "This is amazing!"

Andy chuckled. "Yeah, me and aunt Deb used to be put on dinner-duty when the family got together. I am practically qualified as a chef." He smiled and put a piece of potato in his mouth.

"Wow, what's aunt Deb doing these days?" Greg asked curiously.

"What? You suddenly care about aunt Deb?" Andy snapped.

Steven shrank down a bit, feeling the tension.

Andy then cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "So, what are you supposed to be? In-laws or something?" He asked the gems.

"What?" Pearl asked.

"They're kind of close friends to Steven's mother." Greg explained.

"Oh. Where is the wife anyway? I gotta give her my condolences." Andy laughed.

Everybody tensed and looked at each-other uncomfortably.

"Rose..." Greg cleared his throat. "Is no longer with us."

"Oh..." Andy sighed, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Greg continued eating, until he caught a glimpse of one of the miniature planes in the other room. "Hey, do you still have the old Leaf?" He asked.

"What's the old Leaf?" Steven asked.  
\--------------------------

The next thing they knew, Andy opened the doors to the barn.

Inside, stood an old plane, all covered in spider-web and dust.

"Whoa! You're a pilot?!" Steven exclaimed.

"Eh, once maybe." Andy shrugged. "This ol' think hasn't been used for a LONG time. Not since..." He trailed off and cleared his throat. "Yeah, ol' grandpa taught me all I know."

"Woow!" Steven gasped in awe.

"Yeah, I think I still I have some old pictures. Come on, I'll show you." He waved for them to come along she he walked up the stairs up to a loft.

The loft carried lots of boxes and he bend down to open one, picking up a picture and showed it to Steven. "This was the day of my first flying-lesson."

"Aww, you're so cute!" Steven awwed.

"Wow, you got everything here?" Greg asked, going down to his knees and opened a box. He rooted around in the box with a smile on his face.

"Who's that?" Steven asked, pointing to a picture in the box of an elderly man.

"That's old grandpa." Greg smiled and picked the picture up. "Back when we were about your age, me and cousin Andy always enjoyed having fun with that old guy. There was that one time when we had crept inside the barn and crawled onboard the plane-."

He started laughing, shaking his head. "Man, the others were at rage when they found us crashing into the woods and almost set it on fire. But grandpa was the one who carried us out. We thought he would throw us in the lake or something, but he just laughed and pat us on the head." He then turned to his cousin. "Hey Andy! Do you remember any of this?"

Andy just glared at him, arms crossed. "No." He muttered beneath his breath. And then he walked up to his cousin and snatched the photograph out of his grip. "Now give me that!"

"Hey, what's with the attitude?!" Greg stood up and asked him irritated. "Ever since we got here, you've been biting on my neck! What's the big idea?"

"Because it's you, that's the problem!" Andy burst out.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Greg exclaimed.

Meanwhile, the gems watched them from the lower floor.

"Uh... are we supposed to do something?" Bismuth asked, rubbing the back of her head.

"Don't feed the fire." Garnet told her.

"You left! That's what I mean!" Andy shouted. "Grandpa was the only one who ever cared for us, and when he left you did too!" He was starting to get all red in the face from anger and he started to rip the picture into pieces. "He was only an old man who treated us all like a piece of paper he smashed and threw in the trash!" He yelled out in anger, as the paper pieces fell to the ground.

You could really see how the anger grew in Greg's face and how the tears almost escaped the corner of his eyes.

"Stop that!" He yelled, louder than anyone ever heard him yell and pushed Andy away, making him fall to the ground.

Steven gasped.

The gems gasped.

Greg gasped.

Greg reached a hand for him. "Andy-."

"No." Andy held out a hand and stood up, dusting himself off. "I think I need a moment." Andy rubbed his temples. "I can't deal with this this right now." He then stormed off.

"Uncle Andy! Wait!" Steven called, started running after him but stopped outside the barn.

Greg sighed and leaned down to pick up the teared pieces of paper, when he suddenly noticed something.

A loose wooden plate.

He frowned and lifted it up, putting it to the side.

There was a hidden hole beneath the floor, and inside the hole stood an old shoe-box.

"Huh?" He went down to his knees and lifted up the box.

He opened the lid and picked up a piece of paper.

He frowned.  
\--------------------------

It was sundown and Andy was sitting on the grass, watching the field and the sunset in the horizon.

He heard footsteps behind him and he turned around.

It was Greg, holding a shoe-box for some reason.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey." Andy greeted as well as Greg sat down beside him.

They just stared out the horizon for a long moment, the soft winds blowing in their hair.

"I found this earlier." Greg handed him the box.

Andy frowned, grabbing it. "What is it?" He asked, opening it and picked out a paper.

Greg shrugged. "Don't ask me." Andy frowned again, and Greg smiled and rest his arm around his shoulder. "Why don't we read it together?"

Andy shared him a smile and then slowly opened the paper.

It was a text, gracefully written in cursive letters.

The letter said:

-Dear Greg and Andy.

If you're reading this, your old grandpa has left for the sky permanently in his airplane. And if you read this, I hope that you both are still together as the two troublemakers you are. I never wanted anything else.

But now you are all grown up, and hopefully I have lots of great-grandkids for aunt Deb to squeeze their cheeks. But now, I think it's time for you to know the truth.

Andy, I know I spend a lot more time with Greg than you and I could see the pain you felt back all those years ago. But I never favourised any of you. I loved you too much for that.

And I can't do more than to explain myself. I saw potential. I knew Greg would grow up to be something special. But you Andy, you never searched to be better than you already were. Cause you already knew where you belonged. And that makes me so proud of you. Even though it felt like no one ever cared you never bailed on them. Not that I could say that for myself.

"The reason I left is for me to know. All I can say is that I did some bad things in the past. Things I'm not proud of.

I hope that you found your own way. And I hope that you know that all roads always meet somewhere. Leaves falls from the trees but always meet at the ground.

Take care of yourself.

Old' grandpa.-

Andy dried a tear away

Greg smiled an then turned to grab a ukulele from out of nowhere.

"Found this guy earlier at the loft. You wanna give a try and do the honors?" He asked, offering him the ukelele.

"Me? Nah. You're the one with the talent, boy." Andy chuckled, waving his hands in refusal..

"Suit yourself." Greg smiled as he held the ukelele himself. He strummed a couple strings until they slowly grew into a jolly melody.

And he started singing:

"It was a sunny day

Not the best of ones, i swear it didn't work my way

I was walking home from the store

It was almost a quarter to four

So do you know what I did?-

I sat down by the chore

That day my pot had let go of some steam

If it sounds familiar, you'll know what I mean

Life isn't funny if you're life's a fifth wheel.

So I grabbed the small ol' uke

and the thoughts just fled

And I started thinking about what ol' grandpa said:

Andy grinned.

A ukelele can't make all tunes

Without all it's strings

A choir can't be heard

if nobody sings

And hot sauce wouldn't have a job

-if there were no chicken wings

So if you're feeling kind of blue

Remember that commiting can bring a whole new point of view

And if you're feeling kind of scared

That's okay, it's just another feeling to be chared

And if you are alone

It's just a fact that you're just a lonely soul, yet to be known

So if you feel like your hope's at rest

When it's hard, and yuck, and life is just a test

Don't get stressed

Just remember what grandpa adressed:

The ol' ukelele knows best."

He strummed the ending tunes on the strings and Andy clapped his his hands and laughed.

"What do you know. You do have talent. I was just trying to be nice." He laughed and nudged him in the arm with his elbow.

"Come here you!" Greg laughed and pulled him in beneath his arm, rubbing the top of his head  
\--------------------------

At the way back to the barn, Greg had filled Andy in on what happened the last thirteen years.

"... so know we're kind of on the road." Greg shrugged as he ended his callback.

"Whoa. You really weren't kidding. I just thought the wife kicked you out." Andy chuckled and then nervously stopped and rubbed the back of his head.

"You know... you could stay here... you know... if you want to..." He stuttered.

Greg looked taken aback. "Really? You mean it?"

"Well, I never use that ol' barn for anything anyway. If we maybe, I don't know, clean it up, get some beds and stuff like that it can at least almost feel like home." He scratched the back of his neck nervously and then shrugged. "You know, if you're up to it. I-."

Greg rest a hand on his shoulder, smiling. "It'd be great."  
\--------------------------

The gems were standing inside the barn, not doing anything specific.

When Andy and Greg walked inside.

"Hey, guys!" Greg called, earning everyone's attention. "I filled him in on what's been going on the past few weeks, and Ol' Andy here has offered us the barn! Isn't that neat?" He announced, happily wrapping an arm around his cousin, who looked quite smushed.

Andy just chuckled embarrasedly and pushed him away jokingly, adjusting his jacket.

"Yeah, I thought that you guys could use a place to stay. Plus, why don't you do for family?" He chuckled with a sheepish grin.

His speach earned the smiles from the others and a soft chuckle from Bismuth.

Steven's eyes had become happy puppy-eyes.

"Now." Andy took off his hat and held it beneath his arm and turned to the gems of the group. "Which of you ladies is the one expecting? I have to give her my congratulations." Greg stiffened as a stick.

And so did the rest in the group. Except Bismuth who looked confused.

Andy looked confused. "What? I have to guess here? It's you, right?" He pointed towards Garnet. "Don't think I don't recognise a little bump when I see one."

The moment he pointed his finger at her, Garnet tensed and looked away. She saw their boy look at her in confused distrust.

Garnet felt so helpless at that moment. "Steven..." She took off her visor and showed how helpless she actually felt.

Andy looked as confused as ever. "What is this? Have I missed something?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm with you buddy." Bismuth looked around, confused as well.

Greg sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Steven... doesn't know yet." He said lowly.

Andy immediately regret his words. "Oh, sorry..." He muttered. "I didn't know."

The last few moments of this chapter consisted with everyone just staring, loss of words and loss of action.

Until Andy ended with: "The tall one got three eyes... is... is she supposed to have that?"


	15. Chapter 15

Pearl and Amethyst stood outside the black door to Andy's bathroom.

"Steven? Are you alright in there?" Pearl asked, gently knocking on the door.

"You can't stay in there forever, dude!" Amethyst shouted, sitting leaned against the door. "Trust me. Your butt's gonna get all dry and your feet will, like fall asleep and-."

Greg joined them in the hallway.

"He's still in there?" He asked worriedly.

When suddenly the door opened and a Steven with a towel around his body and head burst outside, letting out foam into the hallway.

"You told me you guys never were babies!" He blurted.

"First off: We didn't say that it's a 'baby'." Pearl made a parantheses sign with her fingers before folding her hands near her face. ”But yes, weren’t because we have always had the unlimited amount of energy to grow to full term. Unlimited energy which Garnet doesn’t posses.” She explained, resting her folded hands against her mouth.

"But the Cluster!- the essence- Bismuth-." Steven stuttered panicked, putting a hand to his forehead, trying to put all the pieces together.

Pearl nodded. "Yes, the Cluster did drip down the drain. But that didn't happen until after Garnet and Bismuth's attempt at escaping the facility." She explained.

"Hey! It's okay dude!" Amethyst grinned and stood up, trying to lift the situation. "Me and P didn't get it either first. We just thought that they zapped her head or something." She made a 'crazy' motion close to her head.

"We know it's hard for you to understand, Steven." Pearl rest a hand against his shoulder. "It's not always easy to understand the universe's choices. But we have to stand behind them."

Steven looked up at her, skeptical, almost sadly.

"Nothing will change between you and us." Pearl crouched down before him and explained. Greg nodded agreeingly behind her. "We'll just have another... um...." Pearl thought for a moment. "New member to the team." She smiled nervously.

"Yeah dude! A little G!" Amethyst grinned.

But Steven still didn't look that intrigued by the idea.

"This is just how it will look from now on, Stu-Ball." Greg told him fatherly, walking over and resting a hand on his shoulder. "And you can't change that."

"And hiding in the shower won't change it either." Pearl pointed out.

Steven looked at the two people in front of him, looking down at him and talking like two parents to their son.

He looked down, grimacing in dislike.  
\-------------------------  
It had been a day since Andy accidentally... revealed the 'surprise' of Garnet's condition. As it seemed, it had gone pretty well?

Since the gems were offered the barn, the gems, Andy and Greg had been cleaning it from the inside, dusting, sweeping etc etc.

The gems had worked together in puling ’the old Leaf’ out of the barn, putting it on the un-used field not far away.

It had only been a night, but they worked productively.

And it already looked quite homely. At the loft among all the boxes, they had moved the boxes and put up an old, cleaned-up couch and a small TV. Before it they had laid a madras, pillows and blanket.

Aka, Steven's new room.

Bismuth had tried to dust off the walls, but her huge hands caused the duster to break in half. She had laughed it off and shape-shifted her hand into a much bigger duster and continued dusting.

Pearl was gracefully dusting the floor while Garnet and Amethyst had been carrying boxes out and inside the barn.

Amethyst had the time of her life pranking poor Andy.

Greg had passed Andy as he walked out of the barn, carrying a box. 

Greg smiled and greeted him with a wave. Andy smiled and waved back.

Not long after, shape-shifted Amethyst in the shape of Greg passed him, waving her hand.

Andy had waved again with a smile and turned back to carrying some rugs.

But once the realization came, he dropped the rugs and turned around, freaked out.

Andy had rubbed his head, muttering something about a circus.

Steven was sitting on the floor of the opened back of Greg's van, having a skype-conversation on his phone. He wore his regular clothes but had a towel wrapped around his head.

”Are you okay?” Connie asked him. "Feeling better?"

”Yeah...” Steven mumbled, drying his face off with another towel. ”I think I got it out of my system.”

"You sure? You don't look okay." Connie said skeptical. "How long was your shower?"

"45 minutes." Steven replied, drying his cheek. "I was beginning to turn into a raisin."

"So... Garnet fell into that pool…..and now she’s having a baby?” Connie asked. 

”Uhh…something like that…” Steven muttered unsure. ”…I think…”

Steven heard a soft thud looked up by reflex. Garnet had just dropped a box she was carrying and bend down to pick it up.

"What was that?" Connie asked.

Steven looked back at his phone. "Nothing." He shook his head.

"Was it her?" Connie asked. 

Steven didn't respond. He just made that sound you do when you don't want to answer.

”Talk to her. " Connie told him. "The sooner you break the ice, the sooner you can both enjoy the lemon juice." Steven looked at her confused. "It's something my dad always says." She chuckled.

Garnet soon walked out of the barn again, alone. She walked a bit and sat down on the grass not far away, gazing out over the field.

"Connie, I gotta go." He told her.

"Okay, good luck Steven." Steven shut the laptop and took a deep breath, finding courage.  
\-------------------------------

Steven passed the barn with confident steps.

Pearl and Amethyst noticed in their mid-cleaning, giving each-other a grimace.  
\----------------------------  
Steven walked up on the grass.

He walked a few meters and stopped to just look at her for a few moments.

Garnet just sat on the grass, staring bluntly at nothing.

Steven took a deep breath. 

And he started walking.

"Hey Garnet." He stuttered shyly as he stood beside her.

"Steven. Hello." Garnet smiled as she turned her head. "Come, join me." She pat the empty spot beside her.

Steven was feeling how uncomfortable he was getting, grimasing and sweat running down his forehead.

Awkwardly, he sat down beside her.

Meanwhile, in secret, the gems and Greg had hidden behind the van to spy on them. 

"What's happening? I can't see!" Connie shouted.

Greg turned the phone so that Connie could see the scene as well.

"So...." Steven began uncomfortably. "A baby, huh?...."

"Yes." Garnet responded bluntly.

They became quiet again. And the moment was so uncomfortable. You could see it from Steven mostly.

"I know you have questions." Garnet told him plainly at last.

"Y-yes." Steven stuttured. When he suddenly frowned and clenched his fists. "Yes! Yes! I do!" He suddenly burst out, much more confident. "How are you so calm about this?!"

"Well... that's one way to break the ice." Connie muttered.

"Shh!!" Amethyst hushed her, laying on the ground, munching on a box of popcorn.

Garnet seemed confused and surprised by that question. "Steven-."

"No! Seriously!" Steven stood up. "How can you be so calm with this?! How can you just sit there, like you always do and pretend like nothing's wrong?!" He waved with his arms angrily.

"I know you're upset-." Garnet tried to calm him down, lifting a hand.

"No! You should be upset!" Steven pointed an accusing finger towards her. "I mean- didn't we....." He sighed heavily. "Why is always everyone acting like nothing ever happens?! Why must everything be in secret from me?!"

"Steven." Garnet said calmly. "Deep breaths."

Steven had by now burst out in tears and he was loosing air from all the shouting. But as he calmed down, he took a few deep breaths.

"Steven. I expected this to happen." Garnet told him calmly as she turned towards him, resting her hands on her thighs. "I know that you're aggravated-."

"Yeah.... yeah I'm mad." Steven sobbed through tears. "I'm mad at myself!" He shouted and stomped his foot into the ground.

There was a long silence after that. 

The gems, Connie and Greg held their breath.

Steven had his head low, eyes shut. "- I don't know why...... but every-time I think about it....it kind of feels like it was all my fault, you know? And-and every-time I think about you getting hurt.... I just feel that I won't be able to protect you." He looked up at her with red-shot eyes.

Garnet watched him for a long time. Until she stood up and walked over to him, crouched down before him and rest a hand on his shoulder.

”Steven. You own the same state of mind as your mother. When we met her we were like her kittens she protected. But even kittens grow up and learn to protect too." She rest a gentle hand on his cheek. "You shouldn’t think that you need to protect me. That’s my job.” She smiled faintly.

Steven smiled back before sobbing again.

”I just wonder if.... " He began, holding her hand on his cheek. "....if my mom was here instead of me....” He dried some tears away and looked up at her. ”Would she have let it happen?”

Garnet grabbed his hands and held them tight. ”Steven. I know that you worry about me... especially now with little G on the way.-"

"Hey! She used my name!" Amethyst cheered, mouthful with popcorn.

"Shhh!" Everyone hushed her.

Garnet continued. "But you need to understand that you can’t protect everyone. You don’t have to feel like you’re not enough because you are. There are more ways to protect someone than with just a shield. By being just you makes our day a whole lot better. And honestly, sometimes I wished I could be a lot like you.”

Steven looked at her in surprise. ”You do?” He asked.

Garnet nodded. ”Even though the world falls down on us you are always there to lift everyone up. In your own Stevenie- way.” She smiled warmly.

Steven smiled at her gently for a split second before he sobbed again. ”Can- can she sleep in my room? You know, when I get one?” He sobbed.

Garnet smiled. ”Wherever you want.” She replied.

Steven’s smile grew even bigger. ”And- and can we make together-breakfast? And can we play Steven-tag? Or-or can we watch some Crying breakfast friends together?”

Garnet reached to take her visor off so that she could look at him more clearer with her three eyes. ”I bet she’d love that.” She answered.

A few more tears ran down Steven’s cheeks before he walked over to hug her. Garnet embraced him tightly as he cried.

And honestly, a few tears ran down her cheeks as well.

Pearl, Amethyst and Greg watched them, smiling and their eyes all shiny from watering.

Pearl even rest a hand on Amethyst's head.

Garnet and Steven broke their hug and Steven dried the tears away with his hand.

"You know we have to punish the others for spying on us." Garnet spoke, putting her visor back on.

Steven laughed with a faint sob. "What did you have in mind?" He chuckled.

Garnet just smiled.  
\-------------------------

Later that day, Pearl and Amethyst walked inside the barn, having a conversation while carrying a some boxes.

Until they both noticed a tape recorder on the floor.

”What the-?” Amethyst began as Pearl put her box down and picked up the tape-recorder.

She pressed the button on the side.

The recorder made a strange sound at first before they heard Garnet’s voice coming from it.

"Gems. You really shouldn't have spied on me and Steven earlier. That was very rude. So as payback, I have put out some invisible strings here and there inside the barn, activating….now.”

Amethyst and Pearl looked around in fear.

”If one of you touches one of these strings, our trap will activate.” Garnet spoke. ”Greg is in fact activating one right….now.”

Suddenly, there was a loud thud sound and a scream of Greg coming from the outside.

Amethyst and Pearl yelped and walked closer to each-other.

”Have fun, gems. That’ll teach you not to trespass on other’s private lives.” And then, the recorder shut itself off.

Amethyst gulped and hugged Pearl’s waist, looking around in terror.

”P, I’m scared.”

Meanwhile, outside the barn, Garnet and Steven sat watching them from the grass.

Steven was holding his dear- MC- bear bear and Garnet just watched the scene.

Greg was walking away in the background, trying to jump forward with a blue toe on his foot from accidentally dropping something heavy on it.

”So… when are we gonna tell them there are no invisible strings?” Steven asked.

”Not yet.” Garnet smiled, ruffling his hair.

Steven smiled, giving his teddy-bear a gentle kiss, a big tear in it’s side slowly sewing up until it was fixed by his healing tears.  
\--------------------------

Somewhere in a forest.

"Go to earth, they said. It'll be easy, they said." A voice muttered as she threw a metallic piece away.

The piece belonged to a green ship, completely destroyed on the ground, leaking smoke and electrical blasts every now and then. 

"Log Date: 7487. This is Peridot reporting in from planet earth. Mission: Watch the progress of the Cluster.” The figure spoke as she walked around the pieces on the ground.

"This whole mission has become one big, total catastrophe! Not only did I get information of the essence-pool being contaminated by that fusion, I also received information two hours after stepping my foot on this hideous planet, that project The Cluster has ran down the drain. Literally."

"I would have been halfway on my way to my next assignment if I hadn't received news that the fusion who contaminated the essence-pool had left the Morganite Facility and Homeworld's galaxy."

"Also, I have been affected by-." She opened a hatch in the ship and was immediately surrounded by a black cloud. "-technical difficulties." She muttered. She shut the hatch and stepped back to her screen to continue her recording. "I have to look for a new escort back to Homeworld."

And just as if on cue, she heard laughter. She frowned and turned around.

She followed the sound through a buskage before she could see the source. 

There was a gem with cube-shaped hair, sitting on the grass.

Beside her sat a young earthling with dark hair on the ground, being ruffled in the hair by the other one’s hand.

He was holding some kind of.... stuffed creature with clothes in his hands. 

He pressed his lips against the side of the stuffed creature, and within seconds, a tear she hadn't noticed until now closed together. Like he healed it.

Peridot frowned. 

"And I might have just found the right candidate."


	16. Chapter 16

Steven was washing his teeth, cleaning his ears and putting on his pajamas.

"Goodnight Uncle Andy!" He shouted as he exit the house and ran towards the barn.  
\--------------------------  
"Goodnight dad!" He shouted as he climbed up the stairs to his new 'room' on the loft.

"Goodnight Stu-Ball!" Greg shouted back.

Steven smiled before making himself comfortable beneath his quilt and shut his eyes with a delightful sigh. He opened them slightly and looked around the room.

"Goodnight loft. Goodnight walls, goodnight mysterious triangle at the end of my bed." He shut his eyes. And then opened them. Nothing there. He sighed and shut his eyes again. "Whatever."

It didn't take more than a few seconds before when a hand suddenly wrapped around his head and mouth.  
\-----------------------------  
The warp-pad light up and the green gem carried the struggling human onto the galaxy-warp.

"Hey! Let me go!" Steven shouted and struggled to the point of the green gem falling.

"Ugh! Enough of this!" Peridot snarled in annoyance and summoned a green light from her limb-enhancer- hand which surrounded Steven and lifted him up.

"Hey!" Steven yelled, hitting the bubble but it was no use.

"Now. That's better." Peridot sighed as she walked over to the homeworld warp, looking at her screen.

"Log Date: 7488. This is Peridot, on mission to planet earth. Since the fall of the injector and the accident with my ship, I have now taken new considerations and taken one of the earthlings under my command. It appears to speak pretty well, considering it's heritage." She spoke loudly.

"Oh, I think I speak pretty well, actually. No bad words though, or else dad will give Steven no TV for a few weeks." Steven said with a shrug, sitting down in his bubble.

Peridot just glared up at him. "Tell me human, has 'dads' and 'Stevens' become the dominant race on this planet?"

"No. There are lots of humans!" Steven said, somewhat happily and started counting on his fingers. "Lars, Sadie, the Frymans-."

Peridot frowned and ignored him, tapping some buttons on the screen. "Note for the future: Don't engage in human conversation for they are INCREDIBLY annoying." She said through gritted teeth.

As she continued recording her words, Steven squinted his eyes and they widened.

He immediately shone up and sat up on his knees. "Hey! It's you!" He exclaimed. "It's you from the chamber back at the facility!"

Peridot immediately tensed and turned around, her prison around Steven disappearing and dropping Steven to the ground on top of the homeworld warp. She frowned angrily. "I don't know anything about-." She then gave him a dead glare. "How do you know about the chamber?" She asked.

She took a step forward. "It was YOU! YOU were the one who destroyed the injector! It was YOU who made all the essence drip down the drain! It's YOUR fault that I'm stuck here on this ridiculous planet without my ship!" She shouted angrily.

"What happened to your ship?" Steven asked confused, sitting up.

Peridot's cheeks immediately flushed green. "That's not important." She mumbled. She then cleared her throat. "Now. I need YOU to fix this!" She used her extra fingers to point at the warp below them.

"What?" Steven squeaked.

"Your powers! Your healing! The thing you did on that ridiculous, mute fur-coated creature!" Peridot shouted, showing him a quick picture of his teddy-bear on her screen

"Wait, you want me to fix the warp?" Steven asked.

"Yes! What's so hard to understand?!" The green gem raised her hand and threatened him with a green, electric ball.

"I'm sorry! Hang on, my mouth gets really wet when I'm scared." Steven squeaked and sat up on his knees. He licked his palm and laid it against the warp-pad.

Nothing happened.

"What was that?!" Peridot asked in annoyance.

"I'm really new at this healing-thing." Steven squeaked embarrassedly.

"Yes, but you're obviously an expert of being a failure!" Peridot face-palmed herself. "This is it! I'm gonna die here... with you." She whined.

When suddenly-

The warp pad light up and revealed Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, weapons ready in hand.

"Steven!" They shouted.

"W-what?!" Peridot gasped in terror, quickly looking at her screen. "Gems?! But Jasper reported that the gems here had been blown to pieces!" She gasped.

"Guys!" Steven gasped in relief, but was quickly grabbed by the throat by Peridot's arm.

"Don't come closer!" She shouted, putting a green, electric ball close to Steven's head

The gems lowered their weapons.

"You clods." Peridot said. "If you even thought for a moment that I'd be stuck here another second you're WRONG!"

"Pearl!" Garnet suddenly shouted.

Pearl suddenly ran over to Garnet, jumping up on her gauntlets. Garnet dashed her up in the air.

Peridot barely had time to do anything before she was pierced by Pearl's spear as she landed, poofing her instantly, leaving her limb-enhancers on the ground.

"Eww, gross." Amethyst shuddered in disgust.  
\-----------------------------------  
The green, triangular gem laid on a pillow at the loft of Andy's barn.

Steven, Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst stood by, watching it

"What is a homeworld gem doing here on earth?" Pearl asked, not believing what she was seeing. "None of them has been here since the rebellion, and now there has been four in less than a month?! How did she get here anyway?"

"She said something about her ship being broken." Steven told them from the couch.

"We'll have to coordinate the presence of the ship shortly." Garnet stated, adjusting her visor. "She must have arrived after we did."

"But why?" Pearl asked, looking at their leader.

"Hey, guys. We saw her. Me and Bismuth, in the chamber. The one who who filled the injector, it was her." Steven told them.

"But what is she doing here?" Pearl asked.

"She said something about 'watch the progress of the cluster'." Steven told them.

"Cluster?" Amethyst asked confused. "What's a cluster?"

"She must have meant the gem-essence she used the injector with. The one Garnet fell into." Pearl remembered, a hand on her chin. "But the essence is gone. For what reason would a peridot be on earth?"

"Maybe she was just un-informed?" Steven suggested. "Maybe it's one of those times when you get invited to a restaurant, and you've gone through the trouble getting there, and once there you get mail that your friend canceled. Happened to me once." He shrugged.

"Yes, but this is a bit more serious, Steven." Pearl crossed her arms.

"Do we really have to bubble her, though?" Steven asked. "Can't we just... try and talk to her? Maybe find out what she wants?"

"Why are you defending her anyway? She kidnapped you." Amethyst asked.

"Because it really looked like she just wanted to go home." Steven answered her. "And I've already helped one gem to get home. So why stop there?" He asked.

"Garnet?" Pearl looked at Garnet for confirmation.

Garnet thought for a moment, putting a hand to her chin. "Steven's way." She answered.

Pearl nodded in dislike and crossed her arms.

"Steven. Stay put. Keep an eye on her. Me, Amethyst and Pearl will go find Bismuth and discuss what we should do with her." Garnet then turned around and headed for the stairs. The gems joined her.

"But-." Steven stuttered.

"Don't worry, Steven. She's harmless without her limb-enhancers." Pearl told him, pointing at the pile of metal on the floor before going downstairs.

Steven gulped and turned towards the gem.  
\-------------------------------  
Steven was sitting in front of the gem, eating a bowl of cereal with a spoon.

He was watching the gem closely.

When suddenly, the gem started glowing.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Steven stood up, dropping his bowl of cereal to the ground.

The gem summoned a humanistic silhouette as it flew up in the air.

The gem landed gracefully on the ground. She opened her eyes.

And when she saw the boy before her, she screamed. "AHH!" She jumped back one step.

"Stand back you muddy ruddy-!" She pointed her limb-enhancer hand towards him.

Only to realize... she had none. It was just her hand.

She looked down, only to notice she was half the size she was before.

"Oh my goosh! You're soo CUTE!" Steven gasped in awe.

"Quiet you!" The green gem yelled at him. "What have you done with my-. She then noticed the pile of enhancers on the ground.

"Hi!" Steven stood before her, waving a hand. "I'm Ste-."

"Out of my way you pebble!" Peridot pushed him aside and rushed over to the pile of enhancers, laughing like she was insane.

"Peridot! No!" Steven shouted after her.

But Peridot had already found her arm-enhancer and put it on, clenching her metallic fingers together.

"Shut up!" She pointed her hand towards him and Steven was surrounded by a green aura again and lifted up off the ground.

"I'm gonna get off this planet sooner or later and you won't be there to stop me!" She threw Steven against the wall.

Steven hit the wall but luckily landed on the couch beneath.

"Peridot!" He shouted, but Peridot had already rushed down the stairs.

Steven ran after her.

"Yes! Freedom!" Peridot threw her arms up in the air in pride.

Temporarily un-aware of the gaze of three gems staring at her from either the floor or a couch.

Steven rushed down the stairs, shouting: "WAIT!"

Peridot trembled in fear. "Look! Another planet to betray!" She shouted, pointing her finger.

Garnet summoned her gauntlets. Pearl summoned her spear. Amethyst summoned her whips.

They headed for her.

"Eeep!" Peridot squeaked and headed for the exit, but was stopped by the doors.

She slammed them, but once she realized it was no use she turned around and watched the gems stop a few feet away, weapons ready.

"What are we going to do with her?" Pearl asked.

While the gems discussed, Peridot examined them visually.

"Wait- it's you! That fusion who contaminated the cluster!" She accused, pointing at Garnet. "Ugh, doesn't any Amethyst have any idea how to guard now days?!" She exclaimed in anger, pulling her hair.

"Hey! Rude!" Amethyst snapped, feeling hit, crossing her arms. "Now you're really gonna become a pancake!" She stretched her whip out.

"Wait!" Steven shouted, summoning his shield and covering Peridot.

"Steven!" Amethyst grunted.

"Don't you point that shield at us, young man!" Pearl scolded.

"Guys! Come on! Can't we just give her a chance?" Steven begged.

Meanwhile, behind Steven, Peridot summoned her screen and framed the gems of four, like scanning them.

When suddenly, the screen zoomed in at the regions of Garnet's abdominal regions, and a red text saying 'Cluster material detected' appeared.

"Oh no! No no no no no no no!" She started to back away in panic. "No no no no! This isn't happening!" She ran off to her left in panic.

"Peridot-." Steven ran after and reached a hand to touch her, but Peridot grabbed a piece of wood and swung at him.

Garnet took a step forward, raising her gauntlets.

"Peridot!"

"Get that thing away from me! Return madness to it's source!" Peridot grabbed a hold of Steven's shoulders, using him as a shield, still threatening them with the piece of wood.

"Huh? You mean Garnet?" Steven turned to look at Garnet. Garnet just shrugged.

"Yes! Well, if that thing would call itself a 'Garnet' fine, but YES." Peridot moaned in annoyance. "She's the one who has doomed this stupid planet!"

"Hey! Peridot! It's fine!" Steven tried to calm her down, looking at her over her shoulder. "Sure, Garnet's having a baby. But that's okay."

"Are you stupid?!" Peridot pushed Steven away and ran and hid behind a wall, sitting down.

"It would be fine as long as all the essence was gone, but you clods have brought 1/1.000 000 here!, on the planet I just happened to be stuck on!" She shouted, covering her head with her arms. "You clods have brought 1/1.000 000 of a destructive weapon that will bring this whole planet to complete destruction!"

"Hey, Peridot. It's okay. The essence is gone. Homeworld can't make earth to a complete kindergarten anymore!" Steven approached her slowly, trying to calm her down.

"Don't you understand, you clod?! The cluster wasn't only made to destroy planet earth. It was also made to create the most destructive gem kind ever made to tear whole galaxies apart!" She yelled. "Why else do you think the diamonds had to keep it classified?!"

Peridot stood up and ran back and tried to escape, but there was a wall in the way and she turned around leaning against it.

"And now, you have brought it here! With, that- that THING!" She pointed an accusing hand at Garnet again.

Garnet grit her teeth in anger.

"So you can do whatever you want, but I'm LEAVING!" Peridot raised her arm and created a propeller with her fingers and started lifting from the ground.

"Oh no you don't!" Amethyst swung her whip and it wrapped itself around Peridot's body. Peridot fell to her stomach.

Garnet soon followed and bubbled her physical form.

Peridot shouted, trying to get free and looked like a child having a tantrum.

"She's not much trouble in there." Garnet nodded, gauntlets fading away.

"Garnet. What was she talking about?" Steven asked, looking up worriedly.

Garnet didn't answer. She just stared at nothing.

She then turned to leave, Pearl and Amethyst following her, Pearl wondering what they were going to do.

Steven turned to look back at Peridot, who still acted like an angry child.

But then, he turned around to leave.  
\-------------------------------  
At night-time, he returned to the room.

By now, Peridot had calmed down and just sat down inside her bubble with her back turned towards him.

"Hey..." He said in a whisper sitting down before her. "How're you doing?"

Peridot didn't answer.

"I brought you soup." He showed the bowl of soup and put it on the ground. No answer. "I'm just gonna assume you don't like to eat." He said. "I can let you out. If you're good."

"What's the point?" Peridot muttered into her knees. "The planet will get destroyed and I'm stuck here. What's the difference of getting shattered inside a bubble?"

"Hey, don't be like that. It's gonna be fine." Steven tried to assure her.

"Liar." Peridot muttered.

Steven's smile turned upside down.

He leaned forward.

Peridot looked up as the red bubble surrounding her disappeared.

She turned around, surprised. "You're releasing me?" She asked.

"I've talked to the gems." Steven said, sitting on his knees. "Fixing the warp pad is shut out-." Peridot frowned. "-but they could agree to you staying here until you've fixed your ship." He told her. "How does that sound?"

Peridot hummed. "It's not of my best interest but..." She took a pause. "I appreciate your offer."

Steven smiled.

"Now..." Peridot began. "Can I have my limb-enhancers back now?" She asked.

"Nope!" Steven answered.

"Did you loose them?" Peridot asked.

"No."

"Did the Amethyst take them?" Peridot asked.

"No..."

"Hey! Look at me! I'm a giraffe!" Amethyst suddenly walked by laughing, wearing Peridot's limb-enhancers.

"Amethyst! Get out of those!" Pearl shouted.

"Stars, please..." Peridot muttered. "Shatter me now."


	17. Chapter 17

The group consisting of Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Steven and Peridot made their way through the forest.

Steven was in the back, holding Peridot on a leach with a rope.

Peridot tried hard to pull the rope up, muttering angrily.

"Is the rope really necessary?" Steven asked Garnet as he watched Peridot practically get pulled along on their trail.

"We can't risk our little 'guest' getting 'too much' freedom." Garnet told him, looking back at the green gem.

"Wow, nice choice of words coming from a rebellious CLOD!" Peridot shouted as she stomped up beside her, looking like a child getting refused of her juice. "And also, where do you expect me to go? Huh? To the homeworld warp? Oh, right. I forgot. You CLODS destroyed it! Or you maybe expect me to flee with this-?!" She showed them her one limb-enhancer attached to her arm, which had a broken propeller.

The gems stopped and looked at each-other.

"I guess she has a point." Pearl honestly said with a shrug.

Garnet shrugged and went down to one knee and started un-tying the rope around Peridot's waist. But Peridot just pushed her in the chest with both hands. It didn't so much to Garnet, she just looked at her.

"Get your disgusting touch-stumps off of me, dirty war-machine!" Peridot shouted, pulling her hands back like trying to avoid to touch her. "Or should I say 'war-machines'?" She sneered at the profile of the fusion. "And while we're on the topic, would you mind un-fusing? Your presence is making me incredibly uncomfortable."

Garnet bow forward and instead tied the rope much more tighter than before. "I suddenly feel that there indeed is something called: "Too much freedom." She said before standing up and started walking again.

Peridot yelped as the rope constricted her waist and started to annoyingly try un-tie it. "Hey! I thought we had an understanding! Release me!" She stomped her foot angrily to the ground.

But Garnet just continued walking alongside the others.

"Don't disregard me, fusion!" She shouted, putting her hands to her mouth to improve volume.

No response.

Peridot started to angrily throw a fit, yelling and waving her arms.

"Here we go again...." Amethyst rolled her eyes.  
\---------------------------

About fifteen minutes later they stood bu the broken green ship, gazing over the metallic pieces on the ground.

"Wow. You really wrecked it bad." Pearl said as she lifted a metallic piece off the ground.

"Yeah, Peri. You must be worse at driving than me." Amethyst laughed, kicking a piece of metal.

"I had lack of communication with the steering." Peridot mumbled and crossed her arms as she stood by, watching. "Shouldn't we get started?" She snapped.

"How are we gonna get all this to the barn?" Steven asked as he looked over the ship.

"This is not that big of a ship. I suggest that we clear a road and pull it out with the van's help." Pearl suggested.

"Good idea. Let's head back and look for tools." Garnet turned to Steven. "Steven. You stay here. You and Peridot can get us ahead and gather the pieces of the ship."

Steven nodded and saluted her. "You got it!"

"Great..." Peridot muttered.  
\----------------------------

Some time, Steven and Peridot were lifting up the pieces, putting them into one big pile.

Or rather, Steven lifted pieces. Peridot did not exactly put her mind to it, and just touched the pieced with her foot every now and then.

"Here, and there, and there you go!" Steven picked a piece up and threw it into the pile.

Peridot cringed at the sound of thundering metal being clashed together and then cleared her throat.

"Human-" She began, putting her hands behind her back.

"Steven." Steven corrected her, smiling.

"Clod." Peridot cleared her throat again. "I couldn't help but notice earlier your....scutellum...." She spoke.

"Oh? You mean my shield?" Steven asked, summoning his shield.

"Yes. I believe that proves you're a gem, right?" Peridot asked as she started to approach him.

"Well, you see-." Steven began a bit un-comfortably.

"Hmm...." Peridot walked over and touched the shield with her hands. "It's a very good work. A weapon of this shape is mostly made by elites. Often Quartzes." She added in fascinated thoughts. "The only known gem to have a shield of this kind was-." Her eyes widened. "OH MY STARS!" She gasped and jumped back. She tried to make a run for it, but the rope pulled her back and she fell to her rump. But she quickly tried to crawl away.

"Wait! Peridot!." Steven made his shield disappear and walked after her.

"You get away from me!" Peridot turned around, aiming a piece of metal at him. "You possess the power of Rose Quartz!"

"Yes...?" Steven squeaked.

"B-but the reports said that Rose Quartz was destroyed by the diamond attack! Just like the other rebels!" Peridot shouted. She covered her head with her hands. "Please! If you're gonna shatter me, please make it quick!" She begged.

"Hey, hey. Peridot. Listen. It's not what you think." Steven tried to reason with her as he slowly approached her. He grabbed her hands and helped her to her feet. "I'm not Rose Quartz. Okay? Rose Quartz met my dad, Greg and she disappeared creating me. And therefore I have her gem." He lifted his shirt to reveal his gem.

"So you're some sort of hybrid?" Peridot snapped in disgust, puling her hands back.

"Well, yeah." Steven shrugged. "You okay with that?"

Peridot didn't look that intrigued. But she sighed. "Well, you haven't made an attempt to shatter me yet, so what's the reason to complain?"

Steven smiled.  
\----------------------------

Later that day, they had managed to get the ship and all pieces to the lawn beside the barn.

They had brough a white- board outside the barn, examined by Pearl, Peridot and Steven, Steven sitting on the ground.

"Now. I have looked through the ship's control panel in the cockpit. If I'm not mistaken we should find a magnet mechanism which would attract all loose pieces." Pearl drew a circle around the ship-sketch. "It won't hold so we'll have to find just enough power for us to attach the pieces to the ship."

Peridot thought for a moment. "Hm. Yes. Affirmative. You can go now." She clapped her hands.

Pearl looked at her oddly. "Excuse me?" She crossed her arms.

"Hm?" Peridot looked up at her in question. "Um... that would be all?" She clapped her hands again. "How do you get her to leave?" She mumbled to Steven.

"Pardon me, but I'm not going." Pearl added a bit irritated.

Peridot sighed in annoyance. "For the love of the Diamonds, didn't anybody teach you where you pearls belong in this world? Who of these dullards do you belong to?, I need to speak to her." She looked around.

"For your information, I don't belong to anyone, and second: This is not homeworld, this is OUR world and I know exactly where I belong here. And I did NOT fight a 5.000 year old war to get provoked by YOU!" Pearl angrily pointed a finger towards the green gem.

"And I won't waste over 3.000 years of service to get pushed around by a PEARL!" Peridot pointed an angry finger at Pearl.

They had now engaged in an angry stare-contest that would kill if it could.

"Hey! Hey! Don't be like that!" Steven ran between them, keeping them apart. "Look. We're all a bit on edge. Peridot has to fix her ship, and we must stand out with her. So why don't we make the most of it and try to at least pretend to be friends until Peridot goes home?"

Pearl turned her back towards them and crossed her eyes. "Fine by me."

Peridot did the same, grunting. 

Steven sighed in relief. "Good."  
\----------------------------

Further on to the day, Peridot was inside the cockpit, laying on her back beneath the control-panel, fiddling with some wires.

"Leverage optimizer." She reached her hand out.

"Um..." Steven hummed, grabbing a hammer out of the tool-box. "This?" He handed her the hammer.

Peridot slithered out from under the control-panel and sat up. "No! I said 'leverage optimizer'!" She yelled.

"Um.... you mean a screw-driver?" He handed her a screw-driver.

Peridor snatched it from his hand before going back to working.

Steven sat down, watching her intrigued. "You talk a lot about these 'diamonds'." He noted a bit confused. "Who are they anyway? They seem like a big deal."

Peridot tried to sit up but ended slamming her forward before she sat up, looking at him wide-eyed.

"Are you joking me?! The Diamonds are the Gem matriarchs!" She exclaimed, summoning a screen with her limb-enhancer and showed a picture of a diamond-shaped sign, divided into four sections of white, blue, yellow and pink. "Together they make up the Great Diamond Authority that governs Homeworld and all the outlying colonies! We live to serve them!" She put a proud hand to her chest.

As she heard the gems talking outside, she frowned. "Although all of us doesn't do it anymore."

Not long after they were walking on the stairs out of the ship, down to the ground.

"Are those the ones who my mom and the gems fought towards all those years ago?" Steven asked.

"Well, they fought towards homeworld gems, who were lead by the diamonds. So yes, they did." Peridot nodded as she bow down to pick up a piece of metal on the ground. "Although, the diamonds did get a big upper-hand over the rebels. No wonder the rebels failed!" She laughed.

Steven was starting to get a bit upset.

"But earth won!" He blurted.

Pearl looked at him confused. And she scoffed. "Won? Ha! Earth didn't really 'win'. It just delayed it's own faith." She laughed. "Honestly, how can you think that the rebels 'won'?" She asked.

"Well, look around you! You're standing on proof!" Steven exclaimed, gesturing towards her feet.

Peridot frowned and lifted a foot. "Unfortunately...." She muttered in disgust. "No wonder the diamonds created the Cluster..." She muttered.

"Yeah. About that....." Steven began. "You said something about a gem that would destroy galaxies.... what's up with that?"

This time, Peridot did not seem that proud. Instead, she looked serious and turned her gaze away from him.

"It's a new high-advanced gem-kind that was made by the diamonds to tear whole galaxies apart. It was supposed to tear apart whole worlds, starting with this one and travel through galaxies until there's nothing left than the smithereens of the planet that once used to be home for nothingness."

Steven gulped loudly.

"But...." He began. "There's only 1/1.000.000 left. How bad can one gem out of millions be so bad?" He asked, trying to lift the situation.

"Because....." Peridot tried to find courage to say this. "Nobody knows what it does."

"What?"

"It's a completely new gem-kind that was made to destroy galaxies. And no one has any idea how." She stared at nothing for a while.

Steven did not look enjoyed by those words  
\----------------------------

Later that day, closer to sunset, they stood outside the barn by the ship.

Peridot and Steven sat inside the cock-pit, surrounded by windows.

Peridot sat in the captain-chair, fixing among the buttons and wires.

Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet stood outside.

Garnet was holding two wires in each hand, connected to the ship.

"Go for it, Garnet." Pearl gave the fusion and thumbs-up.

Garnet grit her teeth and activated her electricity-powers.

The wires light up.

The ship started glowing and and made a sound. Kind of a sound of an engine starting.

Everyone cheered.

"Peridot! That's your cue!" Amethyst gave the gem in the cockpit a thumbs-up.

Peridot pressed a button on the control-panel.

And slowly, the loose parts lf the ship started to lift from the ground.

"Hu-woah!" Amethyst jumped off one metallic piece as it started to lift with him.

The metallic pieces lifted and attached themselves to the ship.

"Come on...." Pearl begged through gritted teeth.  
\----------------------------

Meanwhile inside the cockpit, Peridot was typing in different buttons on the control-panel.

"Wow.... it's so cool!" Steven grinned in awe. "What does this button do?" He asked, pointing at a green button at the left side.

"Don't touch that!" Peridot shouted, throwing herself to try and stop him, but failed. Steven pressed the button.

A hatch on the roof opened, and out flew something similar to a rocket out in incredible speed towards the stars. For their eyes, it looked like a rocket of green shooting off to the sky.

"Oops." Steven grimaced.

"You clod!" Peridot blurted in anger.

When suddenly, the power disappeared and Garnet yelped before falling to her back.

The pieces of the ship fell down to the ground.

"Garnet!" Steven gasped, sticking his head outside the window of the ship before jumping out and running over to his guardian.

Garnet had already sat up as he reached her, Amethyst already there and helped her up.

"Hey! What are you guys doing?!" Peridot shouted, hanging out of the window to the ship. "We were almost there!"

"I'm fine." Garnet muttered. She grimaced as she noticed her ruby-gem acting oddly.

Her ruby-gem glowed inconsistently.

Pearl hummed as she saw this.  
\----------------------------

"Well that went much worse than I had hoped..." Pearl sighed as she pased back at forth outside the barn. "Where are we going to find a power-source of that kind to keep the ship going long enough for us to attach the metal?" She asked.

Steven and the gems sat by on the ground, watching her.

"Maybe we can try again? Maybe later?" Steven suggested.

"It's no use." Peridot spoke as she leaned back against the wall. "The fusion's practically a kindergarten right now."

"We just gonna have to put our heads together." Steven tried to encourage. "Sooner or later we'll get a light-bulb."

"Light-bulb...." Pearl hummed as she turned towards Andy's house.  
\----------------------------

Long wires laid along the ground, going from a window inside the house to the ship.

Pearl examined the ship and then made a thumb's-up towards Amethyst.

Amethyst nodded and made a thumb's up towards Steven.

Steven nodded and made a thumb's up towards Garnet inside the barn.

Garnet put a finger to an electrical outlet, where the wires was attached to. A soft lightning escaped her finger.

The ship started glowing like earlier.

The pieces lifted up from the ground and attached themselves to the ship, fitting like a puzzle.

Quickly, Amethyst summoned her whip and wired it around the ship, making the pieces unable to fall off.

Soon, the ship stopped glowing.

And so did Andy's house.

Everyone cheered.

"Peridot! We did it!" Steven happily hugged Peridot inside the cockpit.

Peridot laughed as well. She actually laughed along.

"Perfect!" Pearl clapped her hands together. "Now all we have to do is attach the pieces to the ship! Easy!" She grinned in delight.

When suddenly, Andy burst out of the house, only wearing a towel around his waist and waving a sponge in the air.

"Hey! Who's fault is this?!" He shouted in anger.


	18. Chapter 18

The days flew by.

During the past few days, they had worked hard on fixing the ship.

Peridot stood on the loft of the barn, recording her words into her limb-enhancer.

"Log Date: 7495. This is Peridot recording from earth. During the previous weeks I have spend on this planet, I have encountered different kind of life-forms. Humans and gems, none of them willing in returning my limb-enhancers. It has also been approximately 14 weeks since the perma-fusion Garnet returned to earth from the facility, accidentally contaminated by the Cluster. I sincerely hope that it not emerges until my escape from earth."

"Speaking of which, the reparation of my ship is not going the way I had hoped. Unfortunately it had more faults than I had expected. But I'm taking assistance from the ownerless rebel pearl, residing here."

"I have also came in contact with the other life-forms residing here."  
\------------------------  
(Flashback.)

Greg was sitting on the roof of the barn, attaching roof tiles with a hammer.

Peridot's head popped up from the opposite side of the roof.

She walked over and sat before Greg.

"Oh, you must be Peridot." Greg said, drying some sweat off his forehead.

Peridot just stared at him.

Greg was starting to feel uncomfortable.

They stared at each-other for a long time.

Until-

Peridot pushed Greg off the roof.

"Ahh!" Greg shouted.

(End of flashback)  
\----------------------  
"In conclusion: all life-forms can't fly."  
\---------------------  
(Flashback continuing)

"Hey! It's raining humans!" A laughing voice spoke from ground

Peridot walked forward and looked down.

It was Bismuth, holding a terrified Greg in her arms.

"Hey! Are you the jokester who scared old' meatball off the roof?!" She shouted.

"Who are you?" Peridot sneered.

"Name's Bismuth. Happy to meet ya." Bismuth grinned. "Now, what do you feel about coming down here and apologize to ol' Greg here?" She nodded towards the human in her grip. "You see, humans aren't exactly like you and me. He's fragile and soft."

"Hey, it' not like a six-pack could save me from that height..." Greg muttered from her grip.

"Well how was I supposed to know that?!" Peridot flung her arms in the air.

"Don't worry about it! See it as a lesson to next time!" Bismuth called.

"Yeah, a lesson NOT to push people off the roof..." Greg muttered.

Bismuth let Greg fall to the ground, putting her hands to her hips.

Peridot watched her intrigued.

(End of flashback)  
\----------------------------  
"I rather enjoyed the company of the Bismuth. She had a manner of optimism which was neither annoying or overwhelming. I think I'll put her on my list of people I won't blast one day."

"I also had a rather... enjoyable meeting with one of Steven's counterparts."  
\--------------------------  
(Flashback)

It was a sunny day and Andy was working hard with is flower-beds, wearing a flowery apron and green gloves.

He dug a small hole in the ground and put a pretty tulip in it's place.

He took a pause to dry the sweat off his forehead.

Peridot approached him and stared at him.

Andy turned his head. "What the- who are you supposed to be? A green dorito?" He asked.

"What are you doing?" Peridot sneered.

"I'm writing a book, what does it look like?! I'm planting flowers!" Andy snapped ironically, putting his hands to his sides.

"Why?" Peridot asked un-interested.

"Because I hate it, what is this?! Stupid questions-day?! I enjoy it and it needs to be done." Andy snapped again. He then went back to all four and started digging again.

Peridot watched him closely.

She even bow forward in a try to see better what he was doing.

Andy noticed and stopped digging to look at her. "You wanted something?"

"Your tactic is flawed." Peridot told him.

"What?" Andy asked annoyed.

"You're using the wrong soil." Peridot explained, taking some soil and rubbed it between her fingers. "If you want a perfectly made kindergarten you need the right kind of material do it." She explained.

"Okay?" Andy raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you suggest?"

Peridot put a hand to her chin and turned her head.

She walked over to the back of the barn, where Andy stacked fertilization bags.

She pulled one, bigger than himself, only ending up getting it over her as she fell back.

"This one." She was barely audible from beneath the heavy bag.

Andy thought for a moment and picked the bag up. He read the instruction.

The next couple hours, he and Peridot united pouring fertilization onto the flower-bed.

Andy had even dug a hole in the ground and let Peridot the honor of putting the tulip to place.

She smiled proudly.

Andy dried the sweat off his forehead and smiled.

(End of flashback)  
\------------------------  
"I have even offered friendly commitment with the half- human Steven."  
\-----------------------  
(Flashback)

Peridot was spying on Steven skyping with Connie on his lap-top back in Greg's van.

"Do you still have that old friendship-bracelet I gave you?" Steven asked.

"Of course I have! I have it right here!" Connie showed him the pink glow-bracelet. "Do you have yours?"

"Yup!" Steven showed her the blue glow-bracelet around his wrist.

Peridot hummed in thoughts.

Later the same day.

"Here!" Suddenly, Peridot held out a tiny, package wrapped in a white wrapper and a pink wrapping string with a cute, little messy rosette on top.

Steven winced in surprise. "What is it?" He asked.

"What do you mean 'what is it?!' It's a present and you are not supposed to ask what it is you stupid pebble!" She screeched in annoyance, but then went quiet again. She looked away. "It's... for you.." She said beneath her breath in a restrained voice.

"For...for me?" Steven asked in surprise, his hands mid air in confusion.

Peridot grit her teeth, and tried to hide her head in her shoulders in a deep shrug. Quietly she mumbled something in annoyance.

Steven hummed and grabbed the small box and opened the top. His eyes turned into stars. He dug inside the box and picked up a light green glowing bracelet.

"I..." Peridot cleared her throat into her fist. "I was engaging in your conversation with the human para-I mean friend, and heard that you offered this to her to show that you were in 'like' with her to show suggestion of companionship. And I must say-." She cleared her throat again. "That I...*cough*." Her thumb scratched the tip of her fingers behind her back. "I have to say...*cough* you guys weren't as bad as I thought."

"Aww, Peridot. That's very sweet." Steven 'awwed'.

Peridot grunted loudly.

Steven looked closer at his new bracelet. "Where did you get this? It looks like wire from the ship."

"It is wire from a ship." Peridot responded.

"Well, still, it came from the heart." Steven smiled heartwarmingly.

"Yes. I advise you not to wear that bracelet, it will literally fry your skin off." Peridot told him.

"Oh... okay..." Steven grimaced, holding the bracelet between his finger-tips.

(End of flashback)  
\-------------------------  
"Though I can't help but feel there still are some tension between me and the former rebels."  
\---------------------------  
(Quick flashback)

Peridot was laughing hysterically at Amethyst, who had turned herself to a toilet and got stuck.

(End of flashback)  
\------------------------  
"But I think I evened it all up."  
\-----------------------  
(Quick flashback)

Peridot had accidentally got covered in red paint and was freaking out. And Amethyst stood by, hysterically laughing at her.

(End of flashback)  
\-----------------------  
"I am still not that comfortable with the information of the Cluster soon to emerge. The permanent fusion has been starting to show clear signs that the Cluster's emerge is sooner than we could have feared."

As on cue, Garnet walked by, hand in hand with Steven, having a conversation with him.

Her midsection had grown quite the last few weeks. Not that much, but still.

Peridot narrowed her eyes.

"I unfortunately made my thoughts about that matter much clearer than I had intended."  
\---------------------------  
(Flashback)

It was a bright day and Peridot was working beneath the ship.

Steven sat by, drinking a box of juice.

"Hey, Peridot. How do you think the baby will look like?" He asked her curiously.

Peridot, who laid on a wheeled plate, rolled out from beneath the ship, lifting her visor. "The what?"

"You know? The Cluster?" Steven shrugged with a smile.

"Oh. I don't want to reflect that." Peridot mumbled, removing her visor and rolling back beneath the ship. "If we have luck, we might get a glance of it before it destroys this planet."

"Hey, don't be like that." Steven tried to reassure her.

"No no. I'm totally okay with that monster being here, waiting to emerge and destroy us all!" Peridot snapped ironically, kicking her legs slightly. "So yes. I guess I am 'like that'."

Steven's face tensed. "Peridot, Sophie isn't a monster. She's just a baby." He told her.

"Sophie?" Peridot raised an eyebrow as she rolled out again, lifting her visor.

"It's just a name I came up with." Steven shrugged.

Peridot frowned in dislike.

Without a word, she rolled back beneath the ship.  
\------------------  
Later that day, they were looking at the ship from the outside.

"Looks good." Steven smiled, putting his hands to his waist.

"Indeed." Pearl nodded.

Peridot hummed as she walked up the stairs inside the ship.

She sat down in the captain's seat, pressing the buttons on the control-panel.

She looked outside the window.

Pearl gave her a thumb's up.

Peridot turned back and pressed one button.

The ship started glowing green and made a sound of an engine starting.

It lifted a few feet up from the ground.

Steven gasped, grinning from ear to ear.

Peridot frowned, sweating. "Come on... come on...!" She hissed through clenched teeth.

The ship soared at least four feet in the air before it hit the ground, shaking it. A couple metal pieces fell off during the collision and smoke escaped the back.

Peridot kicked the door open and stomped outside.

"Great! This is just perfect!" She angrily kicked the ship. "Stupid piece of junk!"

"Hey! Peridot, it's okay! It'll work next time!" Steven approached and reassured her calmly.

"Don't you understand anything you stupid pebble?!" Peridot yelled angrily. "This ship is my only way home! Without it, I'm stuck here on earth with you clods and slowly awaiting destruction from the Cluster!" She shouted, her face almost turning red.

"Her NAME is SOPHIE." Garnet suddenly stepped forward, laying one hand on Steven's poofy head and one on her stomach.

Steven couldn't help but give a smile wide as walls and happy eyes as stars.

Peridot immediately grimaced from the leader's entrance and statement and frowned deeply in annoyance.

"Fine. If you want to name the future destructor of your world, go on ahead! But it won't make matters better!" She snapped.

"It won't make it easier either. Peridot, you should be ashamed!" Peridot grimaced. "You're judging her before she even can speak for herself! How would you feel if everyone were talking behind your back of how wrong, or bad you are and you aren't even there to stand up for herself?" Steven told her.

Peridot looked down and turned her head. "We're finished. For today." She then started walking away.

Steven looked up at Garnet for guidance.

Garnet simply laid an arm around him and pulled him closer to her.

(End of Flashback)  
\-----------------------------  
"To my conclusion, I have come to know that I'm not as well-taught as I thought."

"I have learned that I have hurt many of the earthlings's 'feelings'. But it wasn't my intend. The ways on earth are so much different than those on Homeworld. And... I think that my neglection as a Peridot in homeworld's society has made me 'cold' for other life-forms."

"But I have seen that earth can make you see the values of what's around you. Much like Steven values his 'family'. Or how he values the Cluster, though it's purpose."

"What I want to say is: I'm still learning. And I want to learn. And I'm sorry."

"This is Peridot, logging out." Peridot shut her recorder off and looked up.

What we didn't know was that the whole group sat in the couch or on the floor up in Steven's loft. Steven, Andy, Greg, Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst and Bismuth.

"Aww, Peridot!" Steven gasped heartwarmingly, running up to hug her.

Peridot grunted.

Garnet rest a hand on her head. "That was very brave of you."

"Yeah dude!" Amethyst cheered, punching her in the arm.

Peridot laughed nervously as she watched all of them smile down at her.  
\-----------------------  
Later at night, Peridot was sitting on the roof of Greg's van, looking at nothing.

"Hey! Peridot!" She looked down to see Steven below, holding a box beneath his arm.

"What?" She asked.

Steven climbed up and sat beside her on the roof.

"It was a good thing you did back there." He told her with a soft smile.

Peridot shrugged. "As I said. You guys aren't that... bad..." She muttered.

Steven smiled and then grabbed his box and handed it to her. "Here. I got something for you."

"What is it?" Peridot asked as she held the box in her lap.

"It's a present. And you're not supposed to ask what it is, remember?" Steven joked.

Peridot unraveled the green bow and opened the top.

Her eyes widened.

"My limb-enhancer?" She asked as she picked up her other arm limb-enhancer.

"See it as a 'good job'." Steven told her with a wide smile, giver her a thumbs's up.

Peridot watched the enhancer in awe.

She smiled. "Thanks."


	19. Destiny

The weeks just flew by.

The day was cloudy and the rain was pouring down outside.

Steven was sitting up-stairs on the loft, listening to the rain in the darkness. The lamps were off, the only light coming from his lap-top.

"Wow, it's really pouring out there." Steven said, looking at some water dripping down from the ceiling to a bucket not far away. "I hope it's not that bad in Beach City."

"No, it's pretty bad here too." Connie said from the screen, looking only to be wearing her night-gown.

"Oh yeah?" Steven smiled.

"So, how's the ship going?" Connie asked.

"Okay. It's taking longer than we thought, though." Steven explained. "The gems thinks it'll take another eight weeks or so til' we can get it going."

"And how's it going with Garnet?" Connie asked.

"Well, I don't know really. This have never really happened before, and the hospital's not helping." Steven shrugged and frowned in thought. "Don't tell her I said this but she's starting to get a..." He looked around just in case before whispering: "...baby bump."

"Aren't you worried?" Connie asked a bit skeptical. "I mean, didn't you say the Cluster was a new destructive gem kind?" She asked.

Steven shrugged. "Well, sure but I don't think it's that bad. She is just a baby after all." He said honestly. "I think... And dad says that he and the gems were just as lost when mom expected me, so I guess it's nothing new to them."

"Hey, Steven. How come you never told me about your dad's story?" Connie suddenly changed subject.

"You never asked." Steven shrugged with a smile.

"Wait! Hang on a sec!" Connie suddenly disappeared from screen.

Seconds later, she returned, covered in a blanket and holding a box of pop-corn. "I'm ready."

Steven laughed. "Okay. Well this is the story I'd like to call 'The story of Greg'" He gestured his hand dramatically.  
\----------------------------------  
"Long ago, there was a big house. Almost a mansion. And in that mansion lived two people. Their names were Martin and Penelope Demayo, though I always thought they were named Universe."

"They were wealthy people and had all the cool stuff. A butler, chaperons, fancy cutlery."

"They had a son. My dad, who they loved very much."

"But my dad didn't want the fancy life. He wanted the life of his favorite singer."

"So he quit college and bought himself a van and left."

"And sooner or later, when he realized that earning two dollars a day doesn't pay for anything really, he settled down in a friends's house in Beach City.  
\---------------------------------  
Young Greg, shorter, hair that covered his whole scalp and no beard laid across the couch in the living-room, playing with an old game-console.

The game made a sound.

GAME OVER.

He groaned and let the console drop to the ground.

A pair of red socks stepped inside the room and picked the console up.

"Does my rug like a trash-can to you?" The blonde woman asked him.

"Oh, sorry Vidalia." Greg grinned nervously and sat. He picked up the console from the already messy floor. "And honestly, yes."

Vidalia frowned. "Weren't you supposed to get a job?" She crossed her arms.

"I'm working on it. It's really hard to do actually." Greg said as he stood up, walking around the table. "I just don't get any inspiration..."

"I was not talking about songs. I was talking about YOU getting a real job." Vidalia emphasized her words and blew a pink bubble.

"It is a real job!" Greg argued.

"Oh yeah? Then where's my rent?" The woman asked angrily.

"It's coming. It's coming. Okay?" Greg tried to calm her down.

The woman sighed heavily in annoyance. "I REALLY need the money, Greg." She said, throwing her long hair behind her back. "I'm sick and tired of-."

When suddenly, there was a baby crying from the other room.

Vidalia sighed in annoyance. "Stupid baby..." She muttered as she started walking.

"Hey! I'll fix it, alright!" Greg shouted after that. "Remember! If every pork-shop was perfect, we wouldn't have hot-dogs!" He laughed.

"Go to Mars, Greg!" Vidalia shouted. "And get a job!"

Greg frowned.  
\----------------------------  
Later he was sitting outside on the board-walk, playing some music on his guitar.

"I know I'm not that tall.  
I know I'm not that smart  
But let me drive my van into your heart  
Let me drive my van into your heart."

Someone walked by and threw a penny in his opened guitar-case.

Greg leaned forward.

Five cents, a cap and a safety needle.

"That's not even enough for a bad hot-dog." Greg muttered. He put his guitar in his case and stood up, looking around.

There was a store not far away, with a big donut on the roof.

He hummed.

He sneaked over to the back, where there was a door.

He pulled the handle.

"Come on..." He muttered as he tried to open the door. But it was locked.

"Oh, man..." He looked around again.

He could see the ocean far away.

"Hmm... where there's ocean... that means fish, right?" He said loudly to himself. "And when there's fish there's also... FOOD!" He rushed over to the water until it reached his ankles.

"Okay. They do this all the time in movies. It can't be that hard." He made his hands ready and stood steady in the water.  
\---------------------------------  
Two hours later.

Greg was starting to get tired and his feet looked like raisins, standing the exact position he did earlier.

At last, he sighed and gave up. "Geeze, how can an ocean not have fish?! Isn't that, like, where fish is supposed to be?!"

When suddenly, something splashed in the ocean.

"Huh?" He looked up.

It was a fin, a shark's fin out in the ocean. It was approaching him.

Greg put his hand above his brow to avoid the sun.

It was a fin! A purple shark- fin! And it was drawing nearer and nearer by the second.

"Huh- whoa!" Greg tried to run out of the water, fell and tried to run again.

The shark was behind him but landed on it's stomach against the sand.

Greg fell to the ground and turned around, and sighed in relief.

When suddenly, the shark began... laughing?

The shark was having a fit of laughter.

"Hahaha! You should have seen your face!" It laughed heavily.

"Huh? Do sharks talk?" Greg asked in complete confusion. "What are you?" He asked.

The shark stopped laughing and looked at him. "Well, if I told you I would have to KILL YOU!" She started to jump away laughing, suddenly glowing and replaced by a purple owl which flew away.

"W-wait! Hang on!" Greg shouted, leaving his guitar and ran after.

He ran for a while before he came to an un-known part of the beach.

And soon he reached a fence.

The owl was gone.

Greg held the wires of the fence and looked inside.

All he could see was an arm of a statue.

He hummed in determination and started climbing.

He fell to his back on the other side and began walking.

Soon, he had reaches some kind of temple attached to a cliff. The temple had the appearance of a big lady with two faces and eight arms.

In the stomach of the statue, was a hole, and inside the hole stood a pale woman with an owl on her arm.

"It didn't jump over the fence, did it?" The pale one asked.

"Um... hi?" Greg waved his hand.

The owl turned her head.

"Look! There he is!" She exclaimed

She jumped off the other one's arm and started glowing again, being replaced by a small, purple girl with short hair.

"It's you!" She exclaimed as she landed before Greg.

Greg yelped and stood back.

"Amethyst! Let it be! We don't know where it's been!" The pale one ran up and picked the purple girl up. "I'm sorry for this... you?" She smiled uncomfortably.

When suddenly, the warp pad inside the opening in the statue light up, and there was Garnet.

"Pearl! Amethyst!" She almost gasped, sending away her bubbles. "You're with a human!"

"I pretended to be a shark!" Amethyst grinned.

Garnet walked up uncomfortably close to Greg's face, close enough for him to see his reflection in her visor.

"State your purpose." She demanded.

"I uh..." Greg sweated.

"I don't know how we will get rid of him." Pearl whispered to the taller gem.

"I'll just throw him back over the fence."

"Huh?"

Before he knew it, Greg was hurled up in the air by Garnet and was slowly carried to the fence.

"No! Please! No throwing!" Greg begged.

"Wait!" The trio turned around.

A tall woman in a white dress walked out of the hole in the temple.

"Rose!" Amethyst cheered, and Pearl covered her mouth.

Garnet immediately dropped Greg to the ground and blushed.

The woman walked over to the man and leaned over.

"Are you alright?" She offered her hand.

Greg accepted it and looked up at her in awe. Her hair flew gently in the wind and her eyes sparkled in the light.

She helped him stand up.

"So... are you from here, human?" The pink-haired woman asked him.

"Oh! Uh, no, not really, I'm from Greg, my name's Ginger- wait, no! I mean, I'm... Greg...Universe." Greg nervously started to trail off his words.

The pale one scoffed from behind the tallest lf them.

The woman just laughed. "I'm Rose." She smiled. "So tell me Mr. Universe, what made you cross by here?"

"Well, I was following this purple lady. She scared the life out of me." Greg chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

As on cue, the purple girl turned herself into a cat and jumped up on the pink haired lady's shoulders, purring.

"Amethyst, be nice." She smiled as she scratched her behind the ear. "Amethyst has a remarkable amount of imagination. And she's perfect, just the way she is. Even though she can be a tease sometimes."

Amethyst grinned as she simply laid flat around Rose's neck.

"So, have you found what you were looking for, mr. Universe?" Rose asked him.

Greg smiled dreamily. "No. I found something better."

Rose's cheeks flushed red.

"Now, I better head back to the beach. I forgot m- MY GUITAR!" Greg suddenly gasped.

"What?" Pearl asked, not intrigued.

"I'm really sorry, but I really gotta go now-." Greg apologized and began running.

He left the group of four looking at him in confusion.

"What?" Pearl said again, raising an eyebrow.

Rose sighed dreamily. "What a wonderful experience to be a human-being." She smiled.

"Well, I hope that'll be the last we'll see of him." Pearl hummed, crossing her arms.

"You'll get disappointed." Garnet said, adjusting her visor.  
\---------------------------------  
Greg ran back to his previous spot on the beach and stopped.

"Oh no!"

His guitar-case had been taken by the waves and was floating out at sea.

He ran out to the water and swam a couple feet before he reached the guitar. He swam until he couldn't touch the ground any longer and just floated.

"I got you! Don't worry, I got you!" He hugged the case and kissed it. "I got you."

His gaze then caught the sight of the temple again. It looked so beautiful, glowing in all of the colors of the sunset.

His face-expression softened. He started singing.

"Do you believe in destiny?  
"Close your eyes and leave the rest to me  
Do you believe in fantasy?  
I have to when it's in front of me  
Oh."

He started to climb up on the case.

"What are you doing here?  
In the real world  
What are you doing here?  
So close I could touch you."

He stood on the case and reached his hand out.

"And what are you doing to me?!"

His feet lost balance and he fall back into the water with a splash

His head popped out of the water and he gasped for air before he just stared in awe at the temple before him.  
\-----------------------------------  
Later at night-time, Greg opened the door to the house and walked inside, still wet.

Vidalia sat in the kitchen, feeding her infant son.

"Wow, he finally returns." She muttered, putting a spoon of baby-food in her mouth. "You found a job yet?"

"No. Sorry Vidalia..." Greg muttered and slithered his way to the living-room.

Vidalia's face-expression softened at the changed behavior of the man.

Greg threw himself on the couch, putting his feet up on the table.

For a while, he just stared up in the ceiling, recalling what had happened that day.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Vidalia asked as she entered and leaned against the door-way, crossing her arms.

"Nothing... I just..." Greg began. "I met someone today."

"Oh yeah?" Vidalia asked. "What did she look like?"

"Eight feet tall, long, pink, curly hair-." Greg began explaining.

"Wow. You should let me draw her someday." Vidalia chuckled.

Greg was quiet for a while. "When you met Marty... how did you two end up together?" He asked, turning his head towards the woman.

"He put a baby in me." Vidalia muttered, blowing another pink bubble of gum. "You better not do the same, pal."

"Don't worry." Greg chuckled and then stared up in the ceiling.

Vidalia popped another bubble and rolled her eyes. "Okay..." She sat down beside him, looking at him seriously. "Look, pal. If you really like this gal, you should go after her, okay? And if she rejects you, don't beat yourself up. There are plenty of fish in the sea and-."

"Trust me. It's not as easy as you think." Greg interrupted her.

Vidalia face-palmed herself. "What I'm trying to say is... there are a lot of jerks in this world... and you are not one of them." She told him. "Make the most of that." She put a hand to his shoulder.

"Wow... thanks Vidalia." Greg smiled.

"Yeah, well don't get used to it." She then sat up and slammed a newspaper in his face. "Pay the rent." She then stood up and left the room.

Greg pulled the newspaper off his face and opened it.

One particular advertisement caught his eye.

"IT'S A WASH. Employees wanted."

Greg smiled.  
\--------------------------------------  
"And that's the whole story." Steven ended his story, taking a big bite of his sandwich. "And after that dad left home, he and uncle Andy kind of lost touch and...yeah." He shrugged.

"Wow, that's so cool." Connie gasped in awe. "So your dad didn't know that your mom was an alien?"

"Nope." Steven chewed happily. "He did get quite a scare, though." He chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad I met you. Gem or not." Connie smiled warmly.

Steven smiled, eyes glittering. "Me too." He pressed his hand against the screen.

"So where are Andy and your dad right now?" Connie asked.  
\------------------------------  
The rain was pouring down. It was even worse outside.

Andy should know. He was right now walking through it, only wearing a green rain-coat and a blue umbrella above his head.

He held a lantern in his hand, walking across his flower-beds.

He walked for about fifteen minutes, before he had reached a small hill.

He went down to his knees and put down a basket.

Before him stood a grave-stone, bedded to the ground.

Andy smiled, and dried a few tears away with his sleeve. He opened the basket and picked up some colorful flowers and laid them before the stone.

"Happy birthday, Grandpa." He said, cheeks wet with tears.

But then, he shut his eyes painfully. "If I wasn't such a turd, I could have helped you up there. But I didn't." He then opened his eyes and smiled. "But you know what? Greg, you know 'starchild'? He has a kid now, can you believe that? Never thought that old goofball could even take care of a rock, did ya?" He chuckled and sobbed. "He did good. He raised a good kid. His name is Steven..." A few more tears fell and he dried some away with his arm. "He named him after you."

The water just kept pouring down.

A hand rest against his shoulder.

Andy looked up tear-eyed.

It was Greg, wearing a yellow rain-coat.

Andy dried a few tears away.

Greg offered his hand.

Andy accepted it and stood up, covering them both with his umbrella.

For the next few moments together, they both enjoyed each-other's company as they gazed down over the grave-stone.

On the stone it was scripted:

*RIP  
Steven Demayo  
Beloved husband, friend and grandfather.  
"If every pork-shop was perfect, we wouldn't have hot-dogs.*


	20. Chapter 20

"We need to hurry. The shrine won't hold forever." Pearl announced.

The fact to be told, they were walking inside a shrine.

A shrine under-water.

The structure on the spire looked like a dome, mainly build with glass so that you could see outside into the ocean.

The 'guests' of the shrine was consisting of Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Bismuth, Steven and Peridot.

They were walking down a hallway.

"What are we looking for anyway?" Steven asked as he looked around in awe at everything in the hallway, his cheese-burger back-pack on his back.

"We're looking for an ancient time-glass." Garnet explained as she walked first ahead of the group.

"Yes. It has been inside here for the last 5.000 years and nobody has been able to get a hold of it." Pearl explained instead. "It was found out of nowhere on one of the battlefields on earth over 5.000 years ago. And it was taken here to keep it safe from homeworld. But now the war is over and we have a chance to claim it again." She clenched her fist proudly.

"I just don't understand why I'm here." Peridot muttered from behind Steven, crossing her arms in dislike.

"I just thought it could be nice to get you out of the ship for a change." Steven shrugged. "And it's pretty, isn't it?"

Peridot grimaced and looked up.

Like if on a cue, a green fish swam by above them from outside the glass.

"Guhh..." Peridot muttered as she continued walking.

"Nah, this place is not for me." Bismuth smiled as she put her hands on her hips. "I've had enough of domes." She said as she looked around. "Snowflake would have liked it though."

They continued walking for a while.

Steven was walking until he suddenly stopped when something familiar caught his eye.

A familiar, purple creature with long green hair and a huge tail swam outside the hallway.

"Guh-Gahhh!" Peridot screamed as she saw it and ran towards the group.

Steven just watched her oddly before looking back outside again.

The creature had stopped swimming by and looked their way.

Steven grinned and waved his hand. "Hi Sirena!" He called.

Sirena opened her mouth and let out a song, when a small whale swam by, getting her attention. Sirena swam along, playing playfully with the small whale.

Steven smiled.

"Steven!" Garnet called his name.

Steven nearly jumped and ran over.

Once he reached the group, they had reached a huge crack in the floor.

There was a thin bridge across it and all the gems, except him and Garnet had crossed it.

When he got there, Peridot had attached herself to the bridge, refusing to cross.

But Amethyst shape-shifted her hand so that it reached out and could pick her up.

"Continue north! We'll catch up!" Garnet called.

"Roger!" Amethyst called back and the gems left.

Garnet looked down at Steven and gestured him to walk first.

Steven nodded and started to carefully cross the bridge, balancing on top of it.

Garnet walked after, actually acting much more affected by balance than usual.

Her stomach had grown rapidly the last few months. Her outfit she usually would wear had changed, instead replaced by a much looser, deeper purple overall which was opened up front with a zipper. Inside she wore a red shirt with sleeves.

Steven noticed her discomfort and held her hand. "Are you sure you should be out on missions like this?" He asked her worriedly.

"There's nothing to discuss, Steven." Garnet told him plainly.

Steven did not enjoy that answer and continued walking.

Once Steven had come half-ways, he noticed how his back-pack started slipping off his back.

It fell down the crack.

"Oh no! My backpack!" He cried, reaching his hand after it.

Garnet rest a hand onto his shoulder. "Sorry for your loss."

Steven sighed and continued walking.

Steven jumped onto the ground and Garnet followed.

They continued walking.

"Hey, Garnet. How does Ruby and Sapphire feel about this? You know, with the baby?" Steven suddenly asked her curiously.

Garnet chuckled lightly. "I'm sure they're quite happy, Steven."

"That's a thing I've never gotten really. Are both of their opinions like mashed together so it's your opinion or do you sometimes disagree with what they say?" Steven asked.

"Like I have said before, my opponents names are like the names of my right or left hand. My opinion is my opinion and their opinions are their opinions." She clenched and opened her hands and smiled down at the boy.

"And what do you think about all this?" Steven asked her.

Garnet's smile disappeared. She was quiet for a few moments.

She looked down for a few moments. She stopped walking and Steven stopped with her.

And then she responded: "It doesn't matter. As long as she is fine, I'm fine." She shared him a soft smile and a soft hand against her stomach.

Steven shared a faint smile too.

They soon reached a room which was filled with tons of time-glasses all in different shapes and sizes.

"Now. Don't touch anything. Even the slightest touch of these time-glasses can put this whole place under water." Pearl explained.

"Well, the right option will most certainly be something logical. Something that makes sense." Peridot pointed out.

Steven noticed a really small, round time-glass on one of the tables. "I think it's this one. It's adorable."

"I think it's this one." Bismuth smiled up at one really big one.

"The biggest one?" Pearl asked.

"I can carry it easy." Bismuth massaged her biceps.

"I think it's THIS ONE!" Amethyst suddenly grabbed one funny-looking one and lifted it up.

Immediately, the whole place started shaking and started pouring water.

"Amethyst!" Pearl scolded.

"We need to get out of here!" Garnet ordered and the gems started heading for the hallway.

Steven gasped, but took the time to quickly grab his small time-glass. "Hi! I'm Steven! You're coming with me!" He put the time-glass inside his pocket and started running.  
\---------------------------------  
Greg and Andy sat in front of the house on a chair.

Andy was peacefully peeling potatoes and putting them in a bucket while Greg strummed on his guitar lightly.

A few foot-steps approached them and they looked up.

"Oh, you're back." Greg said surprised. "How did it go?"

Amethyst spat water in response.

The whole group was completely soaked in water and were covered in sea-weed.

Peridot looked like a grumpy, soaked cat.

"Great." Amethyst responded ironically.

Garnet made a thumb's up.

"It would have gone better if somebody could keep her hands in check!" Pearl accused, crossing her arms.

"Hey! Get off my back, okay?! I really thought this was the right one!" Amethyst argued back, holding her time-glass.

"So can't you guys go back and get the right one?" Greg asked them.

"No, we can't because it will be about 300 years before the shrine has build itself up again." Pearl glared down at the purple gem.

Amethyst rolled her eyes.

Greg stood up. "Hey, hey. Guys. I know we've had a rough time these past couple of weeks." He told them, trying to calm them down. "So how about we all go to the beach for a barbecue? Huh? The weather is nice and I think you all could use a break."

"Well... that actually feel kind of nice." Pearl smiled in flattery

"Yeah! And we could bring the badminton rackets!" Amethyst grinned.

"That sounds amazing!" Steven grinned in excitement

"Oh! I'll go pack the blankets!" Pearl sang, running off.

"I'll get the buckets!" Amethyst threw the time-glass over her shoulder, crashing it against the ground and ran off to the barn.

"I don't know what a beach is but I'll relocate to the luggage!" Bismuth pointed a thumb at herself before walking off towards the van. "Come on, tiny!" She grabbed Peridot by the head and lifted her along.

"Hey!" Peridot yelled in anger.

"Well, I better go find the ol' grill." Greg shrugged and walked off. "You coming, Stu-ball?"

"Yeah!" Steven began to run to him. When he suddenly stopped and turned his head.

Garnet was still there. And she didn't look as excited as the others. Less than usual as to say. She looked to be deep in thoughts.

Steven's smile faded.  
\-------------------------  
The van's wheels screeched as it stopped on the sand.

The door burst open and Steven gasped.

The beach was so beautiful, the waves, the sand. EVERYTHING.

He stepped outside the van along with the others and watched the water dreamily.

"It's just like home." He said beneath his breath.

"OH YEAH BABY!" Amethyst suddenly burst out of the van, holding a huge plastic, floating crocodile twice her size above her head and headed for the ocean.

Pearl gently picked out a few blankets which she started to unravel on the ground and after that put up a parasol. "I can't believe it's been so long since we've been on a beach." She sang.

Andy stepped out from the passenger's seat only in bathing-shorts, completely covered with sun-screen.

He looked quite traumatized. "I can't believe we all could fit inside that van."  
\-------------------------------  
And so, the day was wonderful.

They did everything. They played, badminton, they dug Amethyst down in the sand and build sand-castles. One time Amethyst had even shape-shifted into a jet ski and let Andy and Greg glide on the water behind her.

They played volleyball. Amethyst, Pearl, Greg vs Andy, Bismuth, Steven and Peridot. Amethyst jumped up and slammed the ball into the ground.

Steven and Bismuth had to jump aside.

Steven laughed as he fell on his stomach. But his smile faded when he noticed Garnet alone, leaned against the van.

Steven's eyes narrowed.  
\-----------------------------  
Right now at early sunset, they had all seemed to calm down.

Greg was strumming on his guitar, Andy had fallen asleep on a blanket beside him, Amethyst was loudly asleep while her whole body was dug inside the sand and Pearl was reading a book beneath a parasol.

Steven sat on a blanket, wearing his bathing-shorts, watching how Bismuth tried to make Peridot try the water out. Peridot acted like a furious cat and clinged to Bismuth's head, shouting at her.

Steven smiled.

He looked around. "Hey, guys. Have any of you seen Garnet?"

Pearl looked up from her book. "No, not since the badminton competition." She answered, putting her book down. Greg shrugged.

Steven stood up. "I'm gonna go look for her." He said and started walking.

He passed Amethyst, who was still snoring loudly.

She grunted un-comfortably. "Uh, Ste-man. Turn the light off, will ya?"

Steven put a bucket over her head.

Amethyst sighed in relief and started snoring again.

Steven walked for a while until he found Garnet behind a big rock, leaning against it. She was sitting down, without her visor, looking at nothing.

"Garnet?" Steven asked.

Garnet turned her had. "Steven." She almost gasped, picking up and putting her visor back on.

"Are you okay?" Steven asked

"I'm fine." Garnet replied.

Steven was not fooled and sat down on his knees before her.

Garnet knew by now he wasn't fooled and sighed. "Ruby and Sapphire are in disagreement."

"Oh yeah?" Steven asked. "About what?"

Garnet didn't answer.

"Is it about Sophie?" Steven asked her worriedly, giving her stomach a quick glance before his eyes flew up to her face again.

"No, it's not just that." Garnet admitted, putting a hand onto her belly. "I'm worried about the future." She admitted, looking down.

Steven followed her with his gaze. "What?" He asked as he sat down on his butt.

Garnet sat up straighter. "I can see tons of many possibilities before me that is most likely to happen." A few sweat-drops started to run down her cheeks. "I even try to see what mostly like-able possibilities NOT to happen but I always run into deadlocks."

Steven just watched her as she spoke, letting her speak her mind out.

"I have tried for weeks to see how the future will end up for us but just as the river is about to fall down the waterfall it gets stuck in heavy rocks." She adjusted her visor. "And I don't know why it won't work."

Steven watched her. "When I asked you about how you felt about all this, you must have felt overwhelmed. Everyone is always looking up to you for answers and comfort. But when you was questioned how you felt, it must have been a game-changer."

"Steven, I don't want make the wrong choice." Garnet started to protectively stroke her hand up and down her stomach. "I want to live here on earth with all of you, I want my pebble to be safe... and loved..."

Steven watched her worriedly.

Garnet then at last sighed. "I guess I have to keep trying."

Steven watched her skeptical. He stood up and took a step forward. "Well, maybe you don't have to."

Garnet raised her head in confusion.

"Maybe you only run into deadlocks...because you don't know what you dare to see." He grabbed her hand. "You don't know if your vision will end up good...or bad so you try to avoid what might scare you. Maybe if you just let go... and stop worry about what WILL happen, and try and focus on what IS happening, the rocks will move and make ways down the waterfall." He then laid her hand against her stomach again.

Garnet just watched him.

"What is your way right now?" He asked her.

Garnet thought for a moment, and then looked down at her abdomen. "Right now...my only way is the way back to the van."

Steven chuckled at that and reached his hand out. Garnet watched it for a long moment, but then grabbed it with her own. Steven was up first, and helped her to stand up.

Garnet stood up, holding his hands to keep balance. She smiled, and they started to walk.

When suddenly, they stopped when a sudden light caught their eye.

"Huh?"

Garnet raised her hands to see both her gems glowing alternately.

"Well, that's new." Steven chuckled.  
\------------------------------------  
At night-time, they were eating barbecue in a circle. Well, Steven, Greg, Amethyst and Andy ate.

In the center of the circle, was a burning fire.

Greg passed a plate with a done hot-dog.

Pearl grabbed it and poured it down Amethyst's mouth, who still was dug beneath the sand.

They were quite quiet, but some of them had a silent conversation.

"Hey, Garnet..." Steven began as he looked up at her, putting down his hot-dog. "You never told me the story about Ruby and Sapphire." He told her. Everybody silenced.

Pearl and Amethyst shared a glance.

Garnet was silent for a few moments, hands resting against her chin as if she was thinking.

"We planned on telling you that on your birthday." But then she shrugged. "But I guess that you want to know."

She took a deep breath. "It was over 6.000 years ago. Sapphire had been send to Blue Diamond's palace on her request. And with her, were three ruby guards. Soldiers made to protect."

"Sapphire was aristocratic, with a gift which lets her glance into the future. A rare gem who was more often then rarely called by the diamonds to foresee their tactics in further actions." Garnet explained. "By her side, was Ruby. A common soldier send to escort Sapphire to Blue Diamond."

"Sapphire was send to Blue Diamond's palanquin on her behalf and asked her a very important question."

"But her prediction had been wrong and Blue Diamond had send Sapphire to shattering. But Ruby could not let that happen. So in a brave attempt to save Sapphire's life, they fused."

Steven's eyes lit up.

"They ran off and fled homeworld's atmosphere. And they soon found a sanctuary on earth, where they grew to appreciate what it had to offer. But they soon found appreciation in each-other too. And that appreciation grew into love. And their journey soon led to meeting the terrifying renegade Pearl-."

Pearl smiled and blushed.

"-and the leader of the rebels, Rose Quartz."

Steven's eyes widened.

Garnet grabbed a cup of water and held it in her hands. "Ruby didn't decide to leave everything behind just because of Sapphire. She had been from the day she emerged stuck in a group of rubies, all looking and sounding like her. It was just like having to look in a mirror every-time you turned around. And it was an endless mirror-house where you take one wrong step and you'll get hurt." She could see her reflection in the water in the cup. "I can't Imagine how it's like feeling you have no identity." Garnet then put the cup down and re-adjusted her visor.

"Sapphire was too just another pea in the pod. Only rarer with useful powers. She lived better and was treated better. But only if she behaved. Everyday it was 'Sapphire, tell me when the soldiers are returning,' 'Sapphire, show us the best tactic,' 'Sapphire, tell us what Pink Diamond's verdict will be..."

The others were silent for a few moments.

Garnet hadn't moved a single inch. "One. Just one wrong step and you'll get hurt." She continued.

"Pink Diamond was claimed guilty."

Like if something hit them, they sat back, either taken back of the memory or of that statement. Peridot even grimaced slightly. Bismuth's eyebrows narrowed.

Steven could feel as if there was a big hole in his stomach from that statement.

Garnet continued and put a hand on her chest. "Being me makes Ruby feel like she has her own, new identity. That every-time I turn around she doesn't see herself. Just a part of herself, shared with someone else to make something bigger and better. And as for Sapphire, she can finally go without anyone desiring her to know everything. And she feels that if she fails, it's okay. And that it's okay to fail."

The others grew a faint smile on their faces and they nodded. But their smiles soon faded as she continued her next sentence.

"But still there are no rules to forgiveness. And both of them had to suffer from it. And now they only hope that in the end, they can finally be free from guilt by doing something in return."

Steven watched as Garnet held a hand on her stomach.

"Because in the end... nothing can be taken away without something entering. As well as if you get something you have to give something in return. And sometimes... a broken heart is better than a broken gem."

Steven could only watch.  
\-------------------------------  
Later that night, they were all packing and getting ready to go home.

"Uh, hey Steven. What's that?" Amethyst asked, pointing towards the shore.

Steven turned his head.

"My cheese burger back-pack!" He gasped as he ran into the water and picked up the soaked bag.

He held the bag in his hands and smiled. There was a whale's song in the distance and he looked out to the horizon.

He smiled. Not that much of a happy smile. But still, a smile.


	21. Chapter 21

The weeks just fly by and fall had just revealed itself around the corner. The trees had lost it's leaves and Andy's flowerbeds were good as gone. This day, all the gems were all standing by the ship.

Pearl gave a thumb's up.

Peridot sat inside the cockpit and pressed a button.

Slowly, the ship started glowing and lifted from the ground.

And to their surprise, it stayed in the air.

Everyone started cheering.

The ship landed and stopped glowing.

The door opened and Peridot jumped out.

"Peridot! You did it!" Steven immediately ran up and hugged her. "You fixed the ship!"

Peridot laughed in victory, looking like a giddy child.

"Nice work." Garnet rest a hand on the triangular hair.

"Indeed." Pearl smiled, clapping her hands together.

"Go P-Dot! Go P-dot!" Amethyst cheered loudly, on top of Bismuth's shoulder, who cheered along.

"You can finally go back home!" Steven cheered.

Peridot laughed.

Before her smile slowly faded into nothing.

"Home?" She mumbled under her breath.  
\--------------------------------------  
Peridot was standing alone outside the ship. She was just staring at it. And she did not look pleased.

When suddenly-

"WHAAAAAAM!" Amethyst suddenly grabbed her from behind, and Peridot jumped with a shriek. Her visor even fell off her face.

Amethyst just continued laughing loudly. "Sorry, P-Dot!" She laughed, holding her stomach.

"I'll survive." Peridot replied, replacing her visor.

"Steven wanted you to have these." Pearl spoke as she approached them, putting a box down to the ground. "As a memory of your time here."

Peridot peeked inside the box and picked up a regular, gray rock. She frowned. "Wow, thanks."

"What are you gonna do when you get back?" Pearl asked her as she sat down on her knees.

"I'll probably get send to my next mission." Peridot answered straight forward and put the rock back down. "It will probably not be as exciting as here, but it's the life of a peridot." She shrugged, putting her hands on the box.

Pearl smiled uncomfortably.

Peridot suddenly reached her hand out. "It's been an honor working alongside you."

Pearl smiled and shook her hand. "Likewise."

"Hey! Where's my speach?!" Amethyst suddenly joked from behind her, laying an arm around Peridot.

"Oh! Well..." Peridot stepped aside and cleared her throat. "Your company has been highly... vexatious."

"Rude!" Amethyst exclaimed offended.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Peridot apolegised, turning her back towards the purple gem. "I meant: 'Less enjoyable."

"Dude, that's not better." Amethyst crossed her arms.

"Althought, I have to say. Your shenanigans has been oddly... entertaining." Peridot turned back towards the gem.

Amethyst blew some hair out of her face. "Meh, I take what I can get. Come here you!" She then hugged Peridot tightly, almost crushing her.

Peridot thought she was gonna poof at first. But the gesture soon made her smile.  
\-----------------------------------  
Later that day, at sunset, Peridot and the rest had been busy for hours, getting ready for the take-off.

Peridot was just about to climb inside her ship, when Bismuth suddenly walked by and slapped her playfully on the back.

"Safe travels, tiny!" She chuckled and continued her way by.

Her slap had been much harder than intended and almost knocked Peridot over.

She grunted and found balance, but stood straighter when she suddenly noticed the fusion exit the barn and went to sit down on a box beside the barn-entrance.

Peridot grimaced uncomfortably.  
\------------------------------------------  
Garnet had rest both hands on her stomach with a soft smile, when she suddenly looked up as she noticed the silhouette of the green gem before her.

"Fusion-." Peridot shut her eyes and cleared her throat into her fist. "I'm intending to apolegise for... my previous accusations. You know, with the cluster and all that." She began, avoiding eye-contact. "I... I have to admit that I have been rather... confused these past few months and..." She cleared her throat again. "And...war-machine or not... I wish you and 'Sophie' a good last time on earth." She shut her eyes confirmingly.

Garnet smiled.

"Thank you." She responded. "Rose always said earth has a way of seeing things through different angles." She began explaining gently and then leaned slightly forward. "Peridot, I'm proud of you."

"Why?" Peridot snarled confused.

"Because you made an effort to understand us." Garnet rest a hand on her chest.

Peridot's cheeks flushed red. She sat down beside Garnet on the box and turned her head embaressedly.

"I got something for you." Garnet suddenly announced. She put her hands together and summoned a pair of limb-enhancers. She handed them over to her.

"Are you giving these...to me?" Peridot asked her like a surprised child and held the limb-enhancers in awe. She looked up at the fusion.

Garnet's lips turned into a smirk and she nodded.

Peridot turned back to her leg-enhancers and watched them in awe. "I-." She cleared her throat and put on a poker face. "I mean 'thanks' for your kind gesture, fusion."

Garnet smiled as Peridot started putting on and fiddling with her enhancers.

"Oh, darn you stupid old space technology!" She continued mumbling in annoyance as she summoned a wrench from her gem and started fixing the problem with her arm enhancer.

Garnet watched her in curiosity.

Peridot continued mumbling until: "Gaah! Where is that stupid-?!" She looked up, surprised to see Garnet holding a screw-nut just inches away from her face. Hesitant, she looked up at the fusion who smiled at her.

"Thank you!" She snapped, quickly snatching it out of her grip and just within minutes fixed the damage of her enhancer.

"There we go." She sighed at last and rest back against the wall again. She wiggled her legs with her new limb-enhancers with a smile.

Garnet examined the silhouette of the green gem and her smile faded.

"Homeworld has hurt you." She spoke.

Peridot grimaced.

Garnet reached a hand to touch her limb-enhancer, but Peridot quickly pulled away and blushed heavily.

Garnet backed up a bit and pulled her hand away.

"I'm sorry." She apologized.

Peridot dug her chin into her arms and knees and frowned.

"They have hurt me too." Garnet rest back against the wall, palming her stomach gently.

Peridot didn't have an exact reaction. But she did gaze at the fusion's protruding abdomen for a few moments before gazing up at her again.

Peridot sat straighter, looking forward in embarassment.

After some time, she grimaced and started to reach her hand out.

She gulped and started to un-comfortably reach for Garnet's abdomen.

Garnet noticed and looked at her curiously.

Her fingers were just inches away, but she pulled back hesitantly.

Peridot was starting to sweat. She turned her head and looked up.

She could see her reflection in Garnet's visor.

Peridot turned her head back and took a deep breath.

Her palm rested against her stomach.

And after some time, both palms rested against her stomach.

And not before long, in a swift motion, she swung her arms around Garnet's waist and rest the side of her head against her stomach instead.

She looked absolutely amazed, with a long tear running down her cheek.  
\------------------------------------------  
Later at night-time, Peridot and Steven were strolling through the field together.

"In space, do you guys make field circles like other aliens, or is that just a movie-thing?" Steven asked as he walked next to Peridot, wearing a pink jacket.

"No, we do make those. But those are mainly made for messages." Peridot explained.

"And also, I have read many comics of aliens with big, bloated heads and huge eyes-." Steven began, stretching his eyelids out. "What's up with that?"

"What are you talking about?" Peridot snarled.

"Wait, hang on a sec." Steven picked up his phone and showed her a picture of an iconic alien on earth.

"What's that?" Peridot asked.

"It's an alien." Steven responded.

"Is THAT how you earthlings see us? Like this rediculous specie?" Peridot asked offended.

"Well, yeah. It is the most iconic alien at least." Steven shrugged.

Peridot stood in front of him, stopping him. "The word 'alien' isn't a specie." She made a parenthesis with her fingers. "It's a term which indicates an invasive organism, you as an example, which is an non-native to an ecosystem, as an example, my PATIENCE!" She suddenly yelled.

"Okay! Okay. Geeze." Steven took a step back. "Peridot, what's going on?" He asked her.

Peridot crossed her eyes and bitterly stared at the ground.

"You wanna tell me?" Steven asked.

"No." Peridot responded strictly.

Steven sighed a bit annoyed and looked up at the sky. But a smile quickly grew on his lips.

"Look! There's The Big Dipper!" He exclaimed, pointing up towards the sky, making Peridot look up. "Long time since I saw that old friend." He smiled.

"The Big... what?" Peridot asked, frowning. "It's just stars."

"No. It's a star 'constellation." Steven pointed out, sounding like a teacher talking to a student. "During the years, humans have found the stars interesting and found shapes." He then pointed up towards the sky again. "Look! Do you notice how it looks like a dipper? There's the handle and there's the... box thingie."

Peridot squinted her eyes. "No."

"Wait, hold on a sec." Steven than picked up his phone and showed her a picture instead. "See? See the handle?" He then pointed up towards the sky.

"What?" Peridot's eyed widened and she grabbed the phone, taking a few steps forward. She looked between the phone and the sky. "That's unbelievable!" She exclaimed. She changed picture to and saw a picture of Cassiopeia. She looked around. "There!" She pointed up and ran over and pointed at the great W.

Steven ran up beside her. "Yes! That one is called Cassiopeia." He told her.

"Why have I not heard about these before?!" Peridot exclaimed. "I need to find them all!" She changed picture to one that showed a few more constellations at the same time.

She started running around, searching and pointing everywhere. "There's that one! And that one!"

"Wow Peridot. You're amazing at this!" Steven gasped in excitement.

"Yes! I am the greatest star watcher in the universe! Praise me!" Peridot raised her hands in victory.

Steven laughed. And soon, Peridot joined him.

After a while, they slowed down and just watched the sky in awe.

"I…." Peridot began, smiling as she sat down. "I have always seen the stars but….." A tear formed in the corner of her eye. "…..this is the first time I really notice them."

"That's what's great with earth." Steven smiled, sitting beside her. "There's always something new to find. Even if it's not even within our reach."

Peridot smiled in complete awe at the sky. But then, she slowly looked down and her smile faded.

"Do you think that even bad guys can do good things?" She asked the boy beside her, digging her chin into her knees.

"Well, sure." Steven shrugged. "You wouldn't see any stars if there wasn't a dark sky behind them, right?"

Peridot just watched him in fascination. She looked up. "Right…."  
\------------------------------------  
Even later that night, they were by some reason at the beach.

Peridot stood by the chore, standing like a military-general in the dark.

"Crystal gems." She began, hands behind her back. "I have made up my mind." She started.

The gems looked at each-other in confusion, standing before the van.

"About what?" Pearl asked.

Peridot took a deep breath. "Being with you here on earth has been... tolerable. But I have imply that every single one of you is defective."

The gems did not enjoy that statement.

"But I am no different." Peridot continied and opened her eyes. "And I have decided that... during the time of the Cluster eme-." Steven grimaced at her in alarm and she cleared her throat. "Sophie, coming to the world, I have decided to... assist during the delivering stage of it's development as I am a well clarified Peridot at those type of things. Also I..." Her thumb nervously rubbed itself against her knuckles behind her back. "I know I have apologized for my behavior. But I feel I... might need to apologize through actions too." She smiled.

The gems shared her a smile.

"And to prove my loyalty-." Peridot pulled off her arm-enhancer. Then her second one. She tried to pull offher limb-enhancer, bit it didn't go as she wanted. "Come on you stupid-!" She fell to her back and violently pulled off her limb-enhancers.

"Well this is awkward." Amethyst muttered.

Peridot then threw all her enhancers into the ocean and turned around. "There."

"Does that mean you're staying with us?" Steven asked, getting excited sitting on the sand. "On earth?"

Peridot frowned and thought for a moment.

"Yes."

"OH MY GOSH PERIDOT!" Steven immediately hugged Peridot tightly.

Everyone smiled and cheered in delight.

"This is gonna be great!" Steven exclaimed in joy. "We can do everything together! We can go the amusement park, and I can show you what a store is. It's gonna be great!" He hugged her even tighter.

Peridot smiled and looked up as a hand rest against her head.

"Welcome to the Crystal Gems." Garnet smiled.

"Yeah P-Dot!" Amethyst hugged her waist.

"How wonderful!" Pearl clapped her hands.

Peridot smiled and blushed lightly.  
\-----------------------------------------  
"Log date. Ever since I arrived to planet earth my goal was to search and study the development of the cluster. But after approximately 219 days on this doomed planet it has come to my knowledge that faith has put me on a higher knowledge about the ones who used to protect this hunk of rock."

"And to my surprise, I have come to learn that stars we often see on homeworld are far more enjoyable on earth."

"This is Peridot, signing out."

Peridot shut off her new tape-recorder with a warm smile.


End file.
